Tears of a Standout – Fisher, Hoosiers Prepare for Emotional Home Sendoff
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Yes, there’s crying in football. Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher certainly does. When he hits the field, passion flows, tears fall, and somebody’s world gets rocked.
On Saturday, it centers on Wisconsin in the final regular-season home game for Fisher and for other Hooser seniors and if it gets emotional, when it gets emotional, Fisher will be at the forefront.
“When Saturday comes there might be some emotional moments with me, my mom, my sisters, my stepdad,” Fisher says. “I’ll think about when I first got here as a person and a player to now. There’s been a lot of growth and struggles. There were a lot of things I had to get through to get where I’m at.
“I can’t talk highly enough about Bloomington. It’s allowed me to blossom as a person and a player. I love this place. I want to give one last special show.”
There have been plenty of special shows from Fisher and No. 2/2 IU (10-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big Ten) during his two seasons as a Hoosier after transferring from James Madison. He rates as one of America's best linebackers.
Despite an injury costing him almost two full games, Fisher ranks second on the team in tackles (58) and first with five quarterback hurries. He has 7.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six), and a fumble recovery.
He’s the leader of a unit that has ranked among the nation’s best the last two seasons. IU is 21-2 with the program’s first-ever playoff berth during that span under head coach Curt Cignetti.
Beating Wisconsin and then Purdue to end the regular season will send the Hoosiers into next month’s Big Ten title game in Indianapolis for the first-time ever, with a first-round playoff bye on the line.
The secret to that unprecedented success, Fisher says, starts with “consistency and growth.” He mentions a quote from Nick Saban, the Hall of Fame coach with multiple national titles at Alabama and LSU, who said it’s not about beating the opponent, it’s being the best version of yourself every day.
“It’s constantly growing,” Fisher says. “If you do that, you’ll be undefeated in everything you do. That’s the biggest thing I’ll take away from this.
“I’m not always preparing to beat the opponent; it’s how can I be the best version of myself in the little things I do on and off the field.”
No way Fisher was going to pout, to withdraw, to let injury prevent him from being an off-the-field leader.
When an undisclosed injury -- he calls it a “minor tweak” -- sidelined him for seven quarters a couple of weeks ago, including all of the Maryland game, Fisher the player became Fisher the coach.
“It was tough,” he says. “When I first got hurt, I could be a bad teammate by being woe is me and put my head down and look for pity, which would be a terrible representation of myself and what I mean to this team.
“I wanted to be as positive as possible and help the team, help guys like Isaiah (Jones), Ro (Rolijah Hardy), KT (Kaiden Turner), Jeff (Utzinger) and everybody getting thrown into different (linebacker) spots. I was able to help them by not being that selfish guy, just sitting there with a towel over my head. I wanted to encourage them, bring a lot of confidence, let them play free and fast, and do a great job.”
Complexity is part of defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ attacking scheme. It confuses quarterbacks and opposing teams (IU leads the Big Ten with 85 tackles for loss, 31 sacks, and 21 forced turnovers), but only if everyone on the defense is dialed in. Fisher’s job is to communicate the calls and ensure everyone is in position. When he’s out, others have to do it.
“Our scheme is hectic,” Fisher says. “I take care of a lot of things with checks and stuff. I passed that down to Isaiah, who did a phenomenal job. He and Ro together took that and ran with it. They did a great job.”
It was next-man-up at its finest.
“It can get in your head pretty quick if something goes wrong,” Fisher says. “Everybody in our (linebackers) room is a great player. It’s building their confidence. Let them know I’m there every step of the way. If you need help, ask. Anything I see, I will bring it to them. I can’t say enough how much pride those guys played with. They carried themselves so well.”
Fisher’s leadership and insight have been game changers for Hardy, a sophomore who in his second season and first as a full-time starter has emerged as a Big Ten force. His 60 tackles share the team lead with safety Louis Moore.
“He’s a great leader,’ Hardy says. “He’s like another coach. He’s always been the loudest voice in the (linebackers) room. He sets the standard. He lets you know it’s about working hard.
“He pulled me in as a young guy. He’s a great guy on and off the field. You can talk to him about anything.”
Fisher returned for last Saturday’s Penn State game. He says he’s ready for the rest of the season.
“It’s all good now.”
Culture building was never a one-man job. Cignetti led the way with assistant coaches such as Haines and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan right behind him, but ultimately, it’s the players who have to buy in, who have to lead and excel.
Fisher was part of a wave of James Madison players who followed Cignetti to IU with the intention of turning a struggling program into a winner. They knew the system and the approach. They didn’t know all the players and how the transition would go.
Initially, Fisher says, there was uncertainty.
“It was a weird feeling at first. I didn’t know if anybody was going to have hard feelings with a coach bringing in his own guys.
“The first thing I wanted to do was get away from football, get with people outside the facility and try to build new relationships. You’re not coming in like, ‘I’m a competitor; I’m going to take your spot, and we’ll just be work buddies.’
“You’re trying to build relationships. You’re there to help people. You have to check your ego at the door. The coaches did a great job with that. The JMU guys did a great job.
“The best thing we did was build relationships and friendships outside of football. At this point, those will last forever.”
Fisher says it started kicking in midway through that first spring practice in 2024.
“A lot of guys were looking for somebody to take the lead, lead the defense especially. We had a lot of new faces. Building the continuity was rough at first, but we were able to find common things together and learn to see things the same way. That’s when we took a big step.”
IU’s consecutive 10-0 starts have sent fan enthusiasm and expectation soaring. That’s even true of Fisher’s family, causing him to push IU’s stay-focused message.
“I have to check my mom sometimes,” he says. “She’ll be like, ‘You guys had such a good game; you had such a good game.’ I’ll text her the next opponent’s name. I’ll say, ‘Let’s not talk about this right now. Maybe during the bye week.”
The second bye of the season is next week, but in terms of celebrating and appreciating the current success, fueled by the nation’s top-scoring offense (44.5 points a game) and one of the nation’s best defenses (12.1 points allowed), Fisher adds, that’s for after the season when the job is done.
“It’s definitely special,” he says, “but I don’t like to look at it right now. It will be something I look back on when the season is over and I’m no longer a player here. Then, I’ll be emotional and proud of what we were able to do.”
Starting 10-0 and breaking into the top 5 is remarkable for any program, let along one with IU’s long tradition of struggling. To do it two-straight seasons, especially in this transfer-portal era when roster turnover is at an all-time high, seems impossible.
And yet …
“The biggest thing is to get two different teams with so many different players to gel together,” Fisher says. “That’s why we’ve been so successful.
“The buy-in that we have to be the best at their positions in the country. The fire and drive we have as a team two years in a row speaks to what Coach Cig preaches about. You bring character into your locker room – guys who are hungry to win. That will define these two years.”