Fant Is On The ‘A’ Team

By Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Rashard Fant began living up to "Grade A" standards at a very young age.

"It starts young," the Indiana cornerback said. "Education was always important to my parents. It was, 'Listen, you bring home a B, you're not playing sports.'

And Fant really wanted to play sports.

So it's no surprise that, as Fant completes his IU football career this fall, he does so as a graduate student. He graduated last December with a SPEA management degree and is working on his Master's in public affairs.

"My parents weren't playing about school," Fant said. "It was discipline. It was grades. It was, 'Get your work done when you get home, or get it done before you get home, and then you can go out and play.'

"They moved me to the private school (Our Lady of Mercy in Fayetteville, Ga.) because they wanted me to have a better education. And I was worried about the athletic part, but they said, 'God has got it. You're talented. They'll find you.' "

Indiana's Hoosiers found him. And they're really glad they did.

Our Lady of Mercy is a small Catholic high school with an enrollment of around 300 that, when Fant enrolled, wasn't renowned for its football program. It wasn't necessarily a place to which big-time college football recruiters flocked.

"I remember, my 11^th grade year, breaking down and crying because it was, 'Mom, I'm not getting any scholarship offers. I'm not going to be able to play.' " Fant said. "But about a month later, God blessed me with my first offer."

When IU cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby found Fant, he saw the talent. He saw the solid academic and social foundation Fant's family provided. But he still had to convince then-Hoosier head coach Kevin Wilson to part with a scholarship for a prospect who was only 5-foot-10 and weighing somewhere south of 150 pounds.

"You recruit down there, you meet people and somebody says, 'Hey, check this kid out at Our Lady of Mercy,' " Shelby recalled. "And you're going, 'Our Lady of Mercy? Where is that?'

"But then you go. And you see how quick and fast he is. Everybody wants a big ol' corner, and there are recruiting battles on staffs for how the scholarships are doled out (between position units), but I told Kevin Wilson, 'This is my guy. He's going to be special.'

And he's lived up to that."

Fant has already earned second team All-Big Ten honors, having led the league in pass breakups in both 2015 and 2016. He is the NCAA active and IU career leader with 52 passes defended and 48 broken up in 44 career games.

But he even applies a higher standard to that. Fant will tell you that some of those pass breakups should have been interceptions.

And that's the sort of attitude toward his play he started learning right away, as an IU rookie, from Shelby.

"I felt I should play more," said Fant, who saw action in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2014 but didn't start. "Coach (Shelby) didn't think I was ready yet … and he expected so much more. He told me, as a freshman, that he expected just as much from me as he did from (cornerback starters) Tim Bennett and Mike Hunter, even though they were seniors, because, he said, 'I see it in you.'

"When you're 18, you're probably not really used to people pushing you that hard. Everything had come so easily for you. You'd made stuff look easy – everybody who is here at IU got here because they were basically 'the man' for their high school team. They were one of the top players in their area."

But Shelby knew Fant could handle demanding standards, some tough love and a whole lot of truth.

"I have two rules in my (cornerbacks) room," Shelby said. "Do what you say you are going to do, and don't lie to me. If you do those two things, you'll have no issue with me, and he's always been a guy who does what he says he's going to do – he's where he is supposed to be, doing what he's supposed to do – and he tells the truth."

Fant is grateful both that Shelby gave him a chance, but also worked to get the best from him.

"He was a younger coach, I was a young player, and we've grown (our relationship)," Fant said. "It's like a big brother-little brother kind of thing. We were family but we kind of bumped heads a lot.

"We've grown. We've got that basis of trust when we talk. It's definitely been a great process for me, a learning process. It's had its ups and downs. But I'm so thankful for what he's done for me, what he's taught me here at IU. And I'm thankful for him just believing in me."

Shelby said it was easy to believe in both the player and the person.

Fant is a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award (the acronym standing for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School") and a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, presented annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement."

"When you recruit a guy, you're looking for a good athlete who believes in school, and that foundation was set for Rashard at a young age," Shelby said. "And you're looking for the right kind of kid. I think it starts at home, and his mom and dad have done a great job of giving him the great foundation of putting others before himself."

It is a Fant family philosophy.

"You can see that in his sister (Tiana), who is a track star at Kennesaw State, too," Shelby said. "His father (Randy) works at a youth center, is coaching kids. You see a family that bases a lot of their lives on giving.

"Whether it's helping other sports and tutoring – Rashard has great friendships and relationships with athletes from other sports – he does a great job. Probably the thing I'm most impressed about with him is his giving back. Going over to our local Batchelor Middle School and reading with the kids. Going to the Boys & Girls Club. Having grown up with his family involved in things of that nature, he already understands not everybody is as blessed as he is."

Which is one reason why Fant's inspirational word for this season is "Cherish."

Indiana head coach Tom Allen asks each Indiana player to pick a single word they intend living up to entirely over the course of a season. "Cherish" was Fant's choice, and he elaborated on his reasoning during a post-practice interview in Shelby's cornerbacks room.

"Don't take these moments for granted," Fant said. "You sometimes feel like you can play this game forever and don't really sense time is whittling down.

"I'm a very sentimental person. And this is my last year playing college football, being with these guys, in this locker room, in these moments. Still kind of being a kid a little bit. After this, whether it's the NFL or a real job, it's being a real-life adult. So I'm trying not to take these moments for granted."

But there is an expanded meaning, even beyond that, for Fant. He remembers all the scouts who labeled him as too small to play major-college football. He remembers critics who labeled Indiana's defense irredeemable before Allen's arrival. He relishes having doubters.

"Another thing that 'cherish' means to me, regarding football, is cherishing being a bit of the underdog," he said. "Cherish having people doubt you all the time. Don't look at people doubting you and get frustrated, but cherish the opportunity to show them something.

"But mostly it means, for me, just cherish the moments with these guys, right here, right now. Games will be cool, and you'll remember some of those, but you'll really remember the fun times with the guys. The funny stories, the funny video games, the silly stuff, the meaningful conversations."

Fant added he already cherishes fond memories of his family making the trip up from Georgia to watch him play, and to offer support. "I'm blessed to have a little sister and two parents, and not everybody has that," he said. "And I cherish the beautiful girlfriend I'm so lucky to have, being with her, and her family also supporting me."

Fant and girlfriend Nahyo Jalajel, who plays soccer at Western Kentucky, have been an item since high school. That seems a credit to family constancy and stability – and to the two young people themselves.

"It's been six-and-a-half years right now," Fant said with a smile. "I'm a lucky guy."

And he feels fortunate to have played for Allen, whose effect on IU's defense has been transformative for the better since his 2016 arrival as defensive coordinator.

"It's been fun," Fant said. "This is what you want. When I got here, I said, 'Man, I can't believe our defense is that bad.' I wanted to be part of a defense that helps us win games. Part of a defense where people say, 'Hey, that defense is feisty.'

"When we go up against the Ohio States, Penn States, Michigans and Michigan States, people say, 'Boy, you'd better prepare for that defense of theirs.' And now we're hoping people are starting to say, 'Hey, that IU defense, that's going to be a battle.' Coach Allen brought that mindset."

But Fant is far from satisfied. The Hoosiers are 3-5 heading into the final four games, starting with a significant challenge at home against the No. 4-ranked and unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers.

"We still have to take steps, and that includes myself," Fant said. "I still have to take my game to a higher level."

He's seen that happen. For both himself and an entire program.

"Our Lady of Mercy, my freshman year, we only had 26 people on the team," he said. "It was definitely a smaller school and I was a smaller guy. I only weighed about 130.

"We got better. We went from two wins to seven, seven and six – made the state playoffs for the first time. Then I was hoping to come here and help change the program, and be one of the players remembered for helping do that. I'm hoping I'm doing that."

For Fant, it's holding up his end of the bargain for a university and for people enhancing his life.

"When I came up here to Indiana – people call it the Midwest but I call it the North, because it's cold! – it's done so many great things for me," Fant said. "The things I've learned. The friends I've made. Even people I just met briefly have impacted my life, have taught me something. It's broadened me.

"You go here for a journey and it's going to be a fun, enriching one. It isn't always going to be easy, because nothing worthwhile ever is. I'm so happy and grateful I've been able to be here and help the program rise. We haven't always gotten all the wins we should've, but we're hopefully making people proud as we make progress.

"We've got (four) games left. We have things left to do, things we can accomplish. I think we have a good group that knows to take it a day at a time – not looking ahead."

Fant doesn't yet know if his future will feature the NFL or a different career. But he knows he already has his IU degree for life, and fully intends on completing his Masters quickly.

"When I leave here, when I'm done with classes in the summer, I'll only have two more classes to finish (for the Masters)," he said. "And that'll be great.

"Hopefully, I'll have to take those later, because a team drafts me and I'm playing on Sundays."

Shelby said when Fant leaves IU, the school and the football program will be better for having had him here.

"My motto was that I wanted to leave this place better than I found it, and that was my goal when I came to Indiana," Shelby said. "Our DB-corner group back in 2011, it was kind of rough, right? Whenever I do leave, whoever takes over will hopefully say it's in better shape now.

"And that's also what I think Rashard Fant is trying to do at Indiana, and in the DB room. He's trying to leave this place better than he found it. He's 'paying it forward.' He embodies that. He's a great young man. If I had a daughter, he'd be the guy I'd want her to marry."

Just the sort of guy Fant's parents would want, too.

"Grade A" cover corner, yes.

But more to the point:

"Grade A" young man.

Indiana University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Rashard Fant

Related Videos