Senior Safety Fisher Brings Leadership, Experience To Secondary
August 23, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado senior safety Nick Fisher has two great passions.
CU football fans are quite familiar with one — that of a defensive back with big-play capability. Buffs fans saw it in 2016, when he earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors in CU's win over No. 20 Washington State, and they saw it again last year, when he returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against Cal.
"I do love the game," he said. "Football gives you that adrenaline that you don't get from anything else."
But there is another side to Fisher, one fans seldom if ever see. That is the Fisher who dedicates much of his spare time to community service, the Fisher who immerses himself in student-athlete leadership issues, and who this summer served as a mentor at the Crowley Foundation boys2MEN Leadership Summit. He has worked regularly at food banks, stuffed and prepared backpacks for children's programs, and regularly encourages teammates to take advantage of the entire academic and student experience that is available to them.
"My parents have always pushed me to be something outside of football," Fisher said. "They brought me up in the church, and I think that has a lot to do with it. … Football gives you adrenaline. Doing stuff in the community betters your heart, betters you as a person. You learn from the people you are out there helping. Football is a release. You get a more wholesome feeling working in the community."
These days, Fisher is focused on the adrenaline part as he prepares for his last season with the Buffs.
It was just last year that Fisher was supposed to make the transition from super-sub to full-time starter. But an injury in fall camp sidelined him for the first two games of the season, and while he slowly worked his way back into playing shape, he didn't make it to the starting lineup until the last two games of the year.
Now, in his final year at Colorado, Fisher has had a solid fall camp, has steered clear of injury — and barring any bad luck, will be in the starting lineup at strong safety when the Buffs kick their season off Aug. 31 against Colorado State.
"Staying healthy is a blessing," Fisher said after the Buffs wrapped up their 19th practice of camp Thursday morning. "Anytime you can make it through camp without any type of injury, any little kink here or there, it's great. When you are younger here and you see guys get banged up, a lot of times you don't think it's anything serious. But then it happened to me, and you realize injuries are a serious thing. To keep clear of that is huge."
Last season, Fisher wasn't fully healthy until late in the season, but he still finished with 29 tackles, four third-down stops, six pass breakups — and the 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.
That interception was a reminder of his big-play potential, something CU fans saw in 2016.
That is the year Fisher chalked up a rarity — earning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors despite not starting. When starter Afolabi Laguda was ejected against No. 20 Washington State, Fisher stepped in and recorded six solo tackles — including three key third-down stops — as well as a huge fourth-down stop that halted a WSU possession deep in CU territory in the fourth quarter.
Now, Fisher aims to team up with fellow safety Evan Worthington to bring some steadiness, reliability — and some big plays — to the back end of CU's defense.
"Nick's having his best camp he's had," head coach Mike MacIntyre said last week. "He's staying healthy, playing well, communicating, understanding it. You can tell he's a veteran now and doing a great job taking the younger guys under his wing and coaching them."
That leadership role is something Fisher takes seriously, and something his teammates obviously believe he does well. He was one of seven team captains elected earlier this summer.
"It means a lot, especially because the players elect you," Fisher said. "For that to happen, they have to respect you and they have to see you as a leader. It's an honor for them to say, 'Lead me.'"'
Fisher and Worthington are definitely leaders in CU's secondary, where defensive passing game coordinator ShaDon Brown has leaned on them to help teach the younger players.
"When they're out on the field, they have a calming effect because they're older guys and they can calm things down," Brown said. "They also can eliminate problems when they see things before the snap in terms of checks and communication. ... We've reconfigured our meeting room. They're sitting with the young guys and I see them teaching and helping those guys. That's what I expect to see out of seniors. They need to lead and they need to be a coach. While I'm on the sidelines, they are coaches on the field and they're doing that."
A year ago, Colorado's defense struggled to establish consistency and the Buffs took a step back in virtually every statistical category.
This year, most prognostications have the Buffs finishing closer to the bottom than the top of the Pac-12 South. Fisher believes CU's defense could help prove those predictions wrong.
"I have a lot of faith in our defense," Fisher said. "I think we have a great bond this year. I think the guys want it. As long as that want stays when times get tough, we'll be just fine."
PRACTICE REPORT: The Buffs were on the field in light pads for Thursday's 19th workout of the fall, leaving just six more practices before the season opener.
"I definitely feel like they want to play against someone else and hit somebody else," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. " think they've bought in completely and there's a lot of great leadership. It's been really really good." …
The Buffs' No. 1 units have started some work against scout teams in preparation for CSU. That work will step up a notch after CU coaches get a look at the Rams' season opener. CSU hosts Hawaii in a 5:30 p.m. game Saturday. ...
The Buffs will practice under the lights Friday night when they host a "mock scrimmage" that will see them work on game-day details. … They will return to practice again Saturday, take Sunday off and then have four practices next week, the same week classes begin.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
