In Vulnerable Moment, Indiana LB Aiden Fisher Found His Voice

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t think he’s ever told senior linebacker Aiden Fisher he has captain-like traits, and Cignetti’s teams have never named captains.

But Cignetti knew two years ago Fisher fits the bill.

During James Madison University’s 36-35 victory over the University of Virginia on Sept. 9, 2023, the Dukes lost both of their starting linebackers within a five-play span. In stepped Fisher, then a sophomore who’d tallied just five total tackles the year before.

Fisher made a team-high nine tackles and told Cignetti he was better than Taurus Jones, an All-Sun Belt linebacker the year before and College Football Network’s preseason pick for Sun Belt Linebacker of the Year. Cignetti scoffed.

“But you know what?” Cignetti said Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas. “Since then, he’s been the quarterback of the defense.”

In 2024, Fisher became a cornerstone on one of college football’s best stories — in part because of the courage to share his own.

During 2024 Big Ten Media Days, Fisher sat behind a Big Ten Network desk and shared the story he’d kept to himself for so long. He lost his father in 2014 and his stepfather in 2019. His No. 4 jersey is a nod to his mother and his sisters.

Fisher shared the story again before the biggest game of his life — a near-five-minute special that aired on ESPN’s College GameDay prior to Indiana’s College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame last season. Afterwards, he received several messages of appreciation.

The more he opened up, the more support followed. It all culminated in Fisher finding his voice and becoming the orchestrator in the middle of Indiana’s stout defense.

“Being able to share [my story] here, I realized how much of an impact I can have on other people’s lives,” Fisher said Tuesday. “The platform I’ve been given, I’m blessed by the Lord to be given this platform and to shine a light on him, and he can shine through me.

“Just the impact that can have on people, by sharing that story and being vulnerable a little bit, it goes a long way.”

Fisher’s on-field success helped, too. A consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection who secured a handful of All-American nods in 2024, Fisher collected 118 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss across 13 starts.

He enjoyed a similarly productive 2023 campaign at James Madison, logging 108 tackles and six tackles for loss, but against lesser competition. Indiana senior defensive end Mikail Kamara said Fisher was like many of Indiana’s Group of 5 transfers-turned-starters last season: Confident, but perhaps a bit curious to see if it translated. It did, and his voice grew louder as a result.

“To do it on the biggest stage, it kind of cemented it and proved to himself that he is who he says he is,” Kamara said Tuesday. “And all the work he put in really showed itself. So, I think all his confidence and his voice definitely came from him dominating at the highest level that he can.”

Fisher’s official breakthrough at James Madison came when he replaced Jones during the Dukes’ victory at Virginia, but he planted the seeds much earlier.

After his freshman year at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg, Va., Fisher decided to immerse himself in football. He said he always had the drive and ambition to be the best, but heading into his sophomore year, he took on a leadership role and didn’t look back.

Fisher starred both ways in high school. He was a second-team all-district quarterback as a junior and first-team all-district running back as a senior. He even had an offer from Army to play fullback.

But Fisher, the region’s defensive player of the year as a senior, felt defense was where he belonged. And when Cignetti offered him a scholarship at James Madison, he didn’t hesitate.

The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Fisher went through a similar ascent in college. As a freshman, he played 10 games, primarily on special teams. The spring of his freshman year, he decided he wanted more for himself.

“I really dedicated myself to football,” Fisher said. “I really just dove in. I was watching film two hours a day, making sure there was no stone unturned. I wanted to make sure I knew everything. I wanted to make sure I was working out as much as possible, getting extra work.

“So, everything worked out for me and I was able to really dedicate myself to all that. I think that’s where I took that next step and really changed the way of my college career.”

Kamara had a front-row seat to Fisher flipping the switch. Some of it came from experience, Kamara said — Fisher needed to learn the ropes, get his feet wet and adjust to the college level. He did it quicker than most, and Kamara said Fisher remained the same person off the field.

“He came in and played as a sophomore and made plays as a sophomore,” Kamara said. “He didn't come in and was just a guy on special teams or anything. He was a guy who still ended up earning a starting spot. He's kept it ever since, and he's someone I love playing with.

“Especially him being my linebacker, I trust anything he says. Any adjustments, anything he needs, I'm going to get it done for him.”

Cignetti said Fisher is an extension of Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, a finalist this past season for the Broyles Award given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.

With a smirk, Cignetti joked Fisher is more athletic than Haines, who played linebacker from 2004-08 at Ball State University. But the two share similar mental wiring.

“I think he’s really prepared,” Cignetti said about Fisher. “He understands all the checks and adjustments. He’s prepared, he understands what the offenses are trying to do, for the most part, out of various sets, and where he needs to be, how he’s got to fit certain runs.”

And that, by all accounts, sounds like a captain.

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