Daurice Fountain: Future Headliner

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Known as one of the most energetic and charismatic wide receivers to ever don the Purple & Gold, Daurice Fountain has made a name for himself on the national stage these past few months.

The Madison, Wisconsin native has turned heads with NFL scouts and seeks to become Northern Iowa's 19th player drafted to the league. With UNI's Pro Day upcoming on March 25, Fountain reflects on his journey to Cedar Falls and his whirlwind experience at the East-West Shrine Game back in January.

"First it was the tradition and then coach Mark Farley," Fountain said of what led him to UNI. "He kept it straight up, to the point and had my best interest. UNI is a family-oriented place that has a special bond among players, no matter what side of the ball you play."

As is the case with any mother, Tenesha Fountain still needed to be convinced that UNI was the right spot for her son. On their first official visit to campus, Tenesha was blown away by what the program had to offer.

"Everything about the campus was awesome," Tenesha said when recalling the visit. "We loved the weight room, the beautiful campus, all the coaches, the safe community and the fact that the coaching staff made me believe they wanted my son to succeed."

A high-energy guy himself, Fountain needed to play at a place that matched his intensity. The game day atmosphere at the UNI-Dome did just that. With a capacity of nearly 17,000 screaming fans, Daurice felt the passion of Panther Nation.

"Man, the UNI-Dome was awesome," Fountain said. "It gets loud and honestly feels like an FBS stadium. The Dome is second to none and that energy rubs off on you on game days."

The rest is history for UNI fans, who already know the sensational career Fountain turned in with the Purple & Gold. The wideout finished his career ranked fourth all-time in catches (150) sixth in touchdowns (23) and ninth in receiving yards (2,077). With those numbers, Fountain became just the sixth player in UNI history to rank in the Top-10 in receptions, touchdowns and receiving yards.

Fountain's senior season was perhaps his best, as the wideout claimed All-MVFC First Team honors and earned his first All-American selection after leading the team in catches, touchdowns and yards in 2017. Fountain attributes that to help from his position coach, Pat McCann.

"Coach McCann has been everything to me, from a mentor to one of the best receiver coaches I have ever had," Fountain said. "From day one he helped me enhance my game whether it was sending texts at night with tips or clips or even helping me with one-on-one drills during the summer. He was a huge reason for all my success this past season."

After bookending his career another playoff berth for UNI, Fountain turned his attention to making his NFL dream become a reality. The wideout accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game, serving as the jumping off point for his rise to stardom on the national stage.

"I remember the first day I got there, they put us in a room for scouts to talk with us. All the other receivers had a ton of attention from scouts, so I felt a bit embarrassed because I was literally just sitting there on my phone waiting for someone to come talk to me," Fountain recalled.

The underdog from UNI used that encounter as motivation, as Fountain soon became the talk of every scout at practice. Social media blew up with tweets and videos about Fountain's energy, speed and athleticism, now he was the attention grabber at those interviews.

"I went back to the scout room after the first day and the scouts finally started approaching me," Fountain said. "After I kept practicing well, it eventually got to the point where I would have to hide my name tag just to walk through a room because the buzz was so crazy."

The once overlooked receiver turned in a spectacular performance at the Shrine Game, as Fountain earned Offensive MVP honors following his sensational effort. Fountain caught three passes for 61 yards, while racking up 40 yards in punt returns to catch not only the eyes of the scouts, but fans around the country that tuned in to watch the game on NFL Network.

Fountain isn't satisfied however, as his next goal will be to perform well at UNI's Pro Day on March 25. Under head coach Mark Farley, 32 Panthers have achieved their dream of playing in the NFL. Last season, a total of six Panthers took snaps on Sundays, while Fountain looks to become the first player from UNI to be drafted since Deiondré Hall in 2016.

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