Blake Fisher started receiving offers from Power Five schools before he entered his sophomore year of high school. And that fall, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Wisconsin and others extended scholarships to him after seeing his potential.
During the spring evaluation period for college coaches in 2019, more offers poured in for Fisher — from Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma to name a few.
On June 15, 2019, Fisher ended his recruitment by giving his pledge to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish while on campus for a visit. Fisher didn’t have to work for more scholarships at that point. His dream of playing major college football was achieved.
Fisher could have taken the easy route with his commitment in hand and a top-100 national ranking per Rivals. But according to the Avon (Ind.) High coaching staff, their star pupil exceeded expectations going into his junior year in 2019 by putting in extra work during the offseason.
“He took bigger strides than I even thought,” offensive line coach Jared Johnson said. “When he was away from us, he’d be working with his buddies. He was getting a lot of reps in the offseason, and when he came in as a junior, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
“When he came in as a freshman, we saw the size and potential,” head coach Mark Bless added. “That alone puts someone on the map for recruiting, but when he went into his junior year, he made so much improvement.”
In the summer of 2019, Rivals ranked Fisher as the nation’s No. 14 overall prospect and just outside five-star status. His biggest personal goal was to achieve that extra star.
The 6-6, 330-pounder helped his cause last fall in leading Avon to a 9-1 record and routinely producing highlight plays. This past summer, Fisher attended the Midwest Exposure Skill Camp in Fort Wayne, Ind., but his intentions there were much different than everyone else’s.
Most prospects who participated wanted to improve their stock to get on the college radar, but since he hadn’t had any opportunities to impress Rivals’ talent evaluators since his season the prior fall, Fisher attended the camp in hopes to achieve his fifth star.
Mission accomplished.
“Fisher has always been impressively athletic for his size, but there was a concern he could get too big and lose his mobility,” Rivals Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. “This summer, however, Fisher emerged from the spring lockdown in the best shape we have ever seen him. He was leaner and quicker but still a dominant, physical force.”
Rivals currently ranks Fisher as the No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 19 overall prospect in America for the 2021 recruiting class.
“Getting my fifth star is a blessing, and I am honored,” Fisher said. “I have been working for this, and I’m not even close to being finished.”
Every high school recruit in the country has room for improvement and isn’t a finished product. But at this point, the Avon coaching staff doesn’t have many pointers for Fisher, whose game continued to improve from his junior to senior seasons as well.
“What do you coach him on?” Johnson asked rhetorically. “I had to tell him that I have four other offensive linemen that need a lot of coaching, and you just need some fine-tuning but to keep asking questions. He just wants to get better and craves coaching.
“He’s a smart player. He knows what the defense is in and what they can do to him. From the snap, he adjusts accordingly. He’s a great finisher in the pass and run game. He’s a violent player.
“He’s got great feet and is athletic, which you can’t coach. For his size, it’s unbelievable how athletic he is. He’s an NFL guy, in my opinion, if he keeps on this track.”
During Fisher’s sophomore season in 2018, Avon fell 21-7 to rival Brownsburg (Ind.) High. Johnson recalls a play in that contest where Fisher missed his assignment, and the Brownsburg defender forced a fumble on Avon’s running back, which led to a touchdown for the opposing team.
Johnson voiced his displeasure to Fisher, who didn’t understand why his coach was upset at him. As Fisher matured, he started to understand his coaches’ messages to him more. A part of Fisher’s growth in the past several months on the field is due to his development off of it.
“He’s really matured and shown a lot of selflessness,” Johnson explained. “He’s good to the younger kids, and he really takes the other offensive linemen under his wing. His leadership has really improved, and I also have him in class [at Avon], and he works his butt off.”
Most offensive line recruits are more behind-the-scenes, quieter figures, while the skill position players make the most headlines. That’s simply not the case with Fisher though. Anyone who follows him on his social media channels knows that he has a big personality.
“Blake has a social media presence, and that’s an understatement,” Bless joked.
Fisher has more than 12,000 combined followers on Instagram and Twitter, two of the most popular social media channels. His total makes him one of the most popular high school recruits in America, which isn’t normal for an offensive lineman.
Fisher uses his brand and personality to the benefit of Notre Dame. Most unofficial “leaders” of recruiting classes are often the quarterback — but make no mistake, it’s Fisher for the Irish’s 2021 group.
It’s just part of his DNA to lead, and he gives credit to Johnson for his growth as a leader. The offensive line coach preaches to his players about stepping up as young men, and Fisher developed into that as his high school career progressed.
“I took it upon myself to be one of those guys in my class to lead and recruit,” Fisher said. “The social part of me is very vocal, and I’m an individual who is going to speak up and get everyone to hop on board. Being a leader is second nature to me; it’s something I’m passionate about and take pride in.”
Fisher pledged to Notre Dame very early, and he has been in the ear of basically every commitment the Irish have landed since then.
“I recruited a lot of these guys, but I don’t take credit for it by any means,” Fisher explained. “For the class, I’m the most vocal guy, but behind closed doors, the rest of the class gets after it.
“Our class is almost complete; we have a couple more guys we’re trying to get. We all work together, and I love it.”
The recruitment Fisher was most involved in was Clarkston (Mich.) High’s Rocco Spindler, whom Rivals ranks as the country’s No. 3 offensive guard and No. 59 overall player. They’ve become very close friends over the past couple of years, seeing each other on visits and playing online video games together on a daily basis.
Spindler announced his pledge to the Irish Aug. 8 and didn’t inform Fisher of his intentions until a few days before the announcement. Notre Dame fans know that Fisher has the scoop on the Irish’s top targets, but Spindler kept his good friend in the dark for as long as he could.
“Notre Dame fans were asking him if there was any word, and he didn’t know at the time,” Spindler said with a laugh. “He wasn’t posting anything about me, so it seemed like I wasn’t going to Notre Dame.”
When Spindler informed Fisher of his decision to choose Notre Dame over Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State, Fisher was over the moon.
“I was pumped,” Fisher said. “It was a dream come true. I’m going to be playing with my brother for the next few years. It was mind-blowing to see all the hard work pay off and to know he’s coming. I can’t wait to maul some guys with him.”
Fisher is counting the days until he gets to South Bend. He graduates from Avon in December and will enroll at Notre Dame next February, which is a month later than usual for mid-year recruits due to the pandemic.
“I’m going to come in and give everything I’ve got,” Fisher added. “I want to be one of those great Indiana players for Notre Dame. I want to make a difference from day one.”
Fisher has all of the tools to be a dominant tackle at the next level, and his violence and love for contact could make him an elite guard as well. Either way, Fisher will line up at the position that provides him the earliest playing time.
“He’s still 17 years old,” Johnson added. “When he gets in a nutrition program and leans out, it will really help take him to another level.
“I think he can stay at tackle, but he may love the interior. I can see him playing tackle or wherever. He’ll do whatever to get on the field.”
Don’t discount that Fisher will come in and make an off-the-field impact, too.
“I love to have fun,” he said. “I love being me; why would I want to be anyone else? I’m a real social person.
“I’ll be walking down the hall and tap someone on the shoulder and introduce myself. You never know what someone is going through, and that’s very meaningful to me. Someone might be having a bad day, and I want to brighten up their day.”
“I know he’ll do phenomenal in his off-the-field career whenever he gets to that point of his life,” Johnson said. “He’ll be a great salesman, business leader or whatever he wants to do.”
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @MasonPlummer_ and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.
