Fisher Makes His NFL Draft Case by Deed and Word
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Aiden Fisher had made his NFL Draft case by deed. Now, it was time for word.
The former Indiana All-America linebacker was ready. Boy, was he ready in front of a large media gathering at the Mellencamp Pavilion in the aftermath of IU’s Pro Day.
He’d earlier run the 40-yard dash and done other drills and assessments to showcase NFL potential that goes beyond the 215 tackles he totaled in two Hoosier seasons that helped produce a 27-2 record and a national championship.
Fisher projects as a third- to fifth-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Analysts praise his leadership and football instincts, his elite communication and ability to tackle and defend the run in the box. Concerns include his pass coverage skills, and what some perceive as average speed and athletic ability.
Fisher had heard it all. He had a message for teams that want to draft him. The NFL Draft begins April 23 in Pittsburgh.
“You’re going to get the hardest worker in the room,” he said. “As cliché as it sounds, it’s the truth about me. I want it more than everybody else. I put the preparation in. If you watch me play, you can see how much I love football.
“You’ll see a guy who has all the intangibles. I’m a better athlete than what people are saying. I’m somebody who will grind every day, embrace any role I’m given, and help his team win games.”
The numbers back him up. Add Fisher’s two years at James Madison with his two at Indiana, all under head coach Curt Cignetti, and his teams won 46 of 52 games.
Fisher rates as good a leader as the IU program has ever had. He said that will translate well to the NFL.
“It’s more who I am as a person and not the situation that I’m in. It carries with me at all times. A lot of it is not being afraid to step on toes when you want the best for somebody. I make relationships with people outside of football and in football, and they do understand I want the best for them, for me and for the team. That separates me.”
If that sounds almost cocky, well, you’d better be confident if you want to make it in a league full of elite, cocky players.
Cignetti has offered advice on what’s coming.
“He said control what you can control,” Fisher said. “That’s all you can do. I know who I am and what I bring to the table. I have to stay true to that.”
That’s true for all the Hoosiers pushing for NFL opportunity. They’d spent the time after the Jan. 19 national title game win over Miami preparing for this Pro Day moment.
“Now it’s getting back into football shape, being able to transition back to football skills,” Fisher said. “For a lot of us, we’ve just been working on our bodies. That’s nutrition, recovery, sleep.
“A lot of things go into it way more than just working out. This (Pro Day) was a huge step to take. Now comes the next one. All of us are excited about it. I know I am.”
IU’s Pro Day became -- more than a month after the NFL Combine in Indianapolis -- a must-see event for coaches and scouts from all 32 NFL teams, plus the NFL Network and more than 100 media from around the Midwest and the country.
It was, as are so many things since Cignetti arrived two plus years ago, unprecedented.
Star power was highlighted by quarterback Fernando Mendoza orchestrating 56 scripted pass plays to receivers, running backs, and tight ends. In all, 23 former Hoosiers, including D’Angelo Ponds, Roman Hemby, Kaelon Black, E.J. Williams Jr. and Elijah Sarratt, made their NFL-ready case.
It generated invaluable visibility for a program determined to show last season’s national championship wasn’t a fluke; that it was, in fact, the start of long-term excellence.
“Having this is huge,” Fisher says. “It wasn’t just an event people came to the day after the Combine. This is another place where talent is coming out.
“Indiana deserves the respect to have days like this to showcase that. We have a lot of good players that have a chance to play at the next level. That’s huge, not only for the Indiana program, but for the university and the state of Indiana.
“Recruits see why they should go to Indiana. We’re producing NFL talent. We’re showcasing it at the highest level with a lot of cameras in front of you. A day like this is special for this program.”
Adds Cignetti: “It creates a lot of buzz with alums and only helps recruiting, big time.”
As far as how the former Hoosiers handled the Pro Day opportunity, and if it was bittersweet since the players are now moving on, Cignetti says, “They performed well and I expected them to. They all helped themselves.
“It’s part of college football that guys leave and new guys come in. It doesn’t mean you’ll never talk to them again or not have a relationship with them. I’m proud of what they accomplished while they were here, and I look forward to following them down the road. I’m sure they’ll do a great job.”
A day earlier, Fisher had attended an IU spring practice. After four years of having Cignetti as his coach, seeing him in a new reality was, “strange,” Fisher says.
“He smiled at me more than usual. He gave me the finger gun with a wink. It made me laugh finally seeing that and not that scowl. He’s in a good mood when you’re not his player. It was special to be around him.
“I got to talk to him a couple of times. It’s the same old Cig. It was weird to see him coaching other people and not me this time.”
It was, of course, inevitable. Nothing lasts forever, and more and more in modern college athletics, four-year player-coach relationships are becoming rarer. Aiden and his former teammates figure to reap the benefits for years to come.
“We’ve all been prepared to take this next step,” Fisher says. “With Coach Cig, I felt we’ve run a professional program, not just for two years at Indiana, but two years at JMU.
“After being around other guys from other programs who have seen how different coaches and cultures interact, I think we’re more professional, more businesslike.”
With that, case closed.