The sound of success: Panthers' Jordan Fuller has been surrounded by excellence (2024)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Fuller has been surrounded by successful performers his entire life. Beginning as a toddler, the Carolina Panthers’ safety attended concerts ranging from Luther Vandross to Steely Dan to see his mom on stage as a backup singer. Fuller has hung with the comedian Sinbad at family functions and lived in the guesthouse of NBA star Jrue Holiday during Fuller’s first three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

So Fuller doesn’t have to look outside of his family tree to find role models for what he calls excellence. But there’s also something innate that has fueled Fuller’s goal to be his best self and lift others up as well.

How to else explain Fuller’s tears when he was 9 or 10 after wind sprints following a pee-wee football practice in northern New Jersey? Bart Fuller, who coached the team, wasn’t sure why his son was crying after outrunning his teammates during the conditioning drills.

“He was crying that no one was trying as hard as he was,” said Devin Fuller, Jordan’s older brother. “That’s the type of person he was even at a young age. You’re always going to get an honest effort, and that’s what he expects out of everyone else.”

That’s the attitude the 26-year-old Fuller has brought to a Panthers’ defense that has a decidedly L.A. flair. Fuller signed a one-year deal worth $3.25 million plus incentives in March to join former Rams defensive backs Troy Hill and Nick Scott. Panthers defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley all were with Fuller for the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning season of 2021.

Evero said Fuller’s player/leader combination convinced the Panthers to target him in free agency.

“It’s the total package,” Evero said. “He’s a helluva football player. He’s a helluva player from that position, especially because of all the communication and pre-snap thinking you have to do. He can think fast. He can react fast. He can communicate to others quickly. … The guy can make really good football plays, as well.”

Cindy Mizelle played the flute growing up and began singing after a couple of friends convinced her she had a great voice. The members of The Sugarhill Gang agreed: The legendary hip-hop group hired Mizelle to record and go on the road with them when she was 17.

Forty years later, Mizelle said she’s “still at it,” having sung with some of the biggest bands and solo acts in the music world, from Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

Fuller remembers attending a concert somewhere in or around New York City where his mom helped Vandross set up one of his songs by acting like she wanted to reconcile with him after a breakup. Fuller was confused.

“Just being young, I don’t know if that’s real or they’re just joking,” he said. “I’m sitting next to my aunt at the time and she’s like, ‘They’re playing. They’re acting.’”

Mizelle accompanied Vandross on several tours, including one while she was pregnant with Devin, who’s four years older than Jordan. Vandross, the R&B singer who Fuller called “Uncle Luther,” bought Mizelle maternity clothes and turned over the coveted space in the back of the tour bus to her.

“She was with Luther for years and years,” Fuller said of Vandross, who died in 2005. “She was basically one of Luther’s go-to’s.”

Mizelle was part of the 2013 documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” and as recently as February performed at an event in L.A. in which Springsteen joined Jon Bon Jovi on stage. But Fuller and his brother never thought of their mother as famous.

“When you’re born into it, that’s just your life so you don’t know any different,” Fuller said. “She’s a superstar in what she does. But truly a superstar as a mom, too. So hats off to her for everything she’s done for us.”

Mizelle is grateful for all the time she spent with her three children — Devin, Jordan and daughter Jasmine, each of whom can sing “but choose not to,” she said.

“They’ve really improved my life so much,” Mizelle added. “All the different things I wouldn’t have done — track practice, track meets, football games, baseball games, basketball games. All the different things that were just so wonderful to enrich our lives.”

Mizelle is just one of several success stories in the family. Bart Fuller (Jordan, Devin and Jasmine’s dad), who played safety at TCU, moved to L.A. a few years ago and is the lead director of Walgreens’ asset protection division. Bart Fuller’s sister is married to Sinbad, while Devin Fuller married Holiday’s sister after the two met at UCLA, where Devin played four seasons before the Falcons drafted him in the seventh round in 2016.

“It’s not surprising that Jordan’s the way he is just because all the people in his life, all the success those people have had,” Evero said. “And really all the talent he has around him.”

Fuller admits to being a bit wide-eyed the first time he walked into Ohio State’s 102,780-seat stadium. It didn’t last.

“Before the game starts, as a freshman, you might be like, ‘Oh, wow. There’s a lot of people,’” he said. “But I noticed once I started playing, all that stuff goes away. I don’t even think about it. It’s fine. But yeah, (the) big stage is definitely in my blood, literally.”

Fuller’s Ohio State bio lists him as “one of the great student-athletes in football history,” which sounds like hyperbole until you scroll down and read his accomplishments: Three-time Academic All-American; two-year team captain; first-team, All-Big Ten safety as a senior.

The Rams drafted Fuller in the sixth round in 2020 after taking another safety — Utah’s Terrell Burgess — three rounds earlier. Rather than set an adversarial tone, Fuller tried to help Burgess get comfortable as a NFL rookie.

“It was obvious Jordan was the better player, ready-made and all that stuff,” said Evero, the Rams’ safeties coach at the time. “Jordan kind of took him under his wing. Gave him confidence, helped him with the playbook. Kind of brought him along in terms of doing extra meetings and those types of things.”

Evero was equally impressed with how Fuller interacted with Jalen Ramsey, the All-Pro cornerback who would challenge the other members of the secondary — but not Fuller.

“If he was making a coverage check or something like that, Jalen — in a lot of instances where he would fight back or push back on it, especially with younger guys — he was like, ‘OK, Jordan,’” Evero recalled. “He allowed Jordan to run the show because he had so much confidence in him.”

Fuller started 12 games during a rookie season, highlighted by a two-interception game against Tom Brady in a Monday night game at Tampa Bay. Fuller led the Rams with 113 tackles during their Super Bowl season, then missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury before playing 17 games and matching his career high with three interceptions last season.

Evero said the 6-2, 203-pound Fuller can play the run and the pass. “He’s not the fastest player but he can operate in the deep part of the field because he’s got a great feel for route combinations, visualizing the quarterback,” Evero said. “He’s gonna make plays on the ball. He’s gonna be a tough guy. He’s gonna tackle. He’s a competitive guy. You wouldn’t pick that up by his personality, but he’s extremely competitive. He’s got a lot of fight to him.”

Fuller said his main objective is winning, something the Panthers haven’t done since 2017 — the last time they finished above .500 and made the playoffs. This is his challenge.

“All I really want to do is win. Try to get the best out of myself and try to get the best out of the people around me. And support them on and off the field, whatever they need,” he said. “I really feel like winning is — you win with your people. That’s why I wake up every day and try to be my best self and try to do my part. Hopefully that adds up to winning.”

(Top photos of Jordan Fuller and Cindy Mizelle: Ryan Kang, Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images)

Joe Person is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Carolina Panthers. He has covered the team since 2010, previously for the Charlotte Observer. A native of Williamsport, Pa., Joe is a graduate of William & Mary, known for producing presidents and NFL head coaches. Follow Joseph on Twitter @josephperson