Brian Fisher thrives on being Mr. Versatility for USF. Add leader to his many roles.
By PETE YOUNG
Published October 17, 2003
[Times art: Steve Madden]
TAMPA - Brian Fisher is that guy, the one you always want on your team. Yet if you never had seen him play, you might pick him last.
Fisher is too small, his legs too short and bowed, to be considered a natural at any position. Yet he plays seemingly all of them better than anyone else.
Fisher is so quiet and humble, it seems impossible to imagine him as a leader. Yet South Florida coach Jim Leavitt says Fisher is challenging the Bulls to play up to his standard.
Simply put, Fisher is a coach's dream and a fan's favorite, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound jack-of-all-trades, a passing-running-receiving-returning dynamo of a football player.
"I wouldn't question anything with that man anymore, not from what I have seen just this year alone. It's been pretty special," Leavitt said of Fisher, a junior from Pensacola. "We came in thinking he was a receiver and a returner. Then a year ago he ran the option pretty good a few times for us because he was an option quarterback in high school on a state championship team. So we really felt that was pretty good down in the red zone and thought we could use him there.
"Then as we kept looking at it ... we realized he does a pretty good job with the ball in his hands (anywhere)."
How talented is Fisher? USF is looking to expand his role. He has taken snaps at running back this week.
"He has already done punt returns, kickoff returns, quarterback and receiver, so I don't know why he couldn't play running back, too," Leavitt said. "I wouldn't doubt that he can do a lot of things."
What does Fisher, 20, say when people ask him his position?
"I just say, "Everything,' " Fisher said. "If they need me at center, I'll play center. I just want to win. The coaches call my number, I have to be ready."
Fisher's power, quickness, low center of gravity and cutting ability make him exceptionally hard to tackle. He is reminiscent of a smaller Barry Sanders, a squattier Warrick Dunn or a scrunched Peter Warrick.
"Brian Fisher reminds me of the guy from Alabama they used to call "The Deuce,' David Palmer," said USF linebacker Maurice Jones, referring to the 1993 Heisman Trophy third-place finisher. "Quarterback, running back, kick returner, he does all of that. It is hard to tackle Brian. In practice it's hard to get anything on him. You've got to read his waist, but you still can miss him.
"He's a playmaker. It doesn't matter what the situation, he can make it happen. He's just gifted."
Fisher's instincts are exceptional. Take Friday in the fourth quarter, when he brought the Raymond James Stadium crowd to its feet. Inserted at quarterback because the vicious TCU pass rush was pummelling quarterback Ronnie Banks, Fisher ignited the Bulls to a touchdown to cut it to 13-10.
Several how-did-he-escape scrambles had the crowd gasping, but one play, an incomplete pass, demonstrated his acute football sense. TCU blitzed from Fisher's right, and almost instantly a defensive back was lining him up for a clean shot while the pocket was collapsing, leaving no room to escape, even for Fisher. So he calmly pivoted to his left and lobbed a pass into the end zone toward 6-foot-5 receiver Huey Whittaker, barely incomplete.
"Brian goes in and everything changes," Leavitt said. "He sees things, he understands things. To be able to go in and call the offense, and then go to receiver, he's got to have good awareness. He's pretty special, besides being a good athlete."
It might be blasphemous to suggest Fisher has one best position, but it might be punt returner. He is averaging 10 yards a return and that would be higher if not for having a long one called back on a questionable penalty last week and a touchdown called back two weeks ago vs. Louisville when he (maybe) grazed the sideline. Also, USF routinely goes for the punt block instead of trying to set up a return.
The most difficult part of being Brian Fisher might be getting practice time at all of his various responsibilities.
"That's a challenge. He just does it," Leavitt said. "He is with (the first team) and he goes with (the second team, too). He runs all his sprints, comes out early everyday to catch punts. He is pretty unique, and it is hard to find guys with that kind of mental focus and that kind of discipline. He doesn't get many breaks and he doesn't complain. You don't see something like that very often."
Asked what practice is like, Fisher said, "Long. Every day."
Hard work during long practices every day has helped Fisher take it to another level. He is trying to bring the Bulls with him.
"I never thought of Brian as a big leader a year ago, and in my eyes he is a very big leader right now," Leavitt said.
"He is challenging people because he has that right. Because he is a stand-up guy and because he's earned that right with his performance."
