Fulgham grew up abroad as his parents, Alonzo and Celeste Fulgham, worked as diplomats for the U.S. Agency for International Development. As he moved between Jordan, India, South Africa and Egypt, Fulgham never even had the opportunity to play football.
"I knew about football but I never got a chance to play until I got back to the states in my junior year," Fulgham told reporters on a conference call at the Lions facilities in Allen Park on Saturday.
Fulgham says he grew up a Patriots fan and would watch their playoff runs when he came back to the States to visit his dad during the winters -- the only time he ever got to watch football as a kid.
He was drawn to basketball and soccer as a kid growing up abroad -- two sports he says were in every country he lived in. Though he excelled at both, he was excited to nab the opportunity to try something new when he permanently moved back to the U.S. in high school.
"It was the first time I ever got the opportunity to play and I'm a sports junkie, so whenever I get a chance to go out and try a different sport, I'm going to take that opportunity," Fulgham said. "It ended up working out pretty well for me, I think."
That's safe to say.
Though he didn't receive any scholarship offers to play collegiately, less than two years after taking up football, he got a chance to walk on at Old Dominion University, where he redshirted in the fall of 2014 and earned a scholarship for the next season. He has since parlayed that decision into becoming ODU's first offensive player ever drafted. He wasn't quite the first Monarch ever drafted, though -- that title went to teammate Oshane Ximines, who went to the New York Giants in the third round.
"It was a great feeling," Fulgham said. "We've definitely had some great players to come out of Old Dominion, but to be the first offensive player is just a dream come true."
Old Dominion currently has a handful of players -- including quarterback Taylor Heinicke and Bears OT Rashaad Coward -- active in the NFL who made their way to the league despite going undrafted.
At 6-foot-3, 215 lbs., Fulgham was a deep threat for the Moncarchs, averaging nearly 18 yards per catch during his senior season. He said when he got to watch football as a youngster, he idolized Randy Moss, but in recent years since forming into an NFL-caliber player, Fulgham said he has tried to model his game after Larry Fitzgerald and Detroit's own Calvin Johnson.