BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football linebacker Jailin Walker stood at the podium on Friday and smiled when he was asked about Aiden Fisher.
“We call him the White Wolf,” Walker said, with a laugh. "That's my guy."
The two made a formidable pairing for a James Madison defense that ranked among the best in the country in 2023. Walker, who is a year ahead of Fisher, was a returning starter last season while Fisher’s rise as a true sophom*ore happened a bit sooner than expected.
Fisher acknowledged as much at Big Ten Media Days back in July. He was one of three players new IU coach Curt Cignetti picked to represent the program.
While Fisher isn’t lacking confidence —he always believed his talent would eventually land him a prominent role at JMU —he didn’t anticipate going from a special teams role to Big Ten starter in just a year.
"It's definitely surreal,” Fisher said, at Lucas Oil Stadium. “I'm just a put your head down and work kind of guy. I feel like I'm reaping the benefits of my hard work.”
More:'Big future': Indiana football’s Amare Ferrell is a name to watch in the secondary
Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher’s breakout year wasn’t a surprise to his teammates
Former James Madison defensive end Jamree Kromah was an early believer in Fisher.
The Rutgers transfer thought Fisher was one of the standout players during JMU’s spring practice in 2023. He told him as much while taking it upon himself to nickname the linebacker “Sticks” for wearing No. 11.
“You could see the potential,” Kromah said, in a phone interview with The Herald-Times. “He would climb and scrape over the top, his reads and everything. It was just the way he was operating. I loved the way he played and the way he carried himself.”
Fisher only played 24 defensive snaps as a true freshman, but found a steady role as a specialist. He closed out the year playing the fourth-most special teams snaps on the team and played on all four units (kick return, kick coverage, punt return and punt coverage).
While he started out 2023 a bit higher on the depth chart, he was still in a reserve role until JMU’s all-conference linebacker Taurus Jones suffered an early season injury. Fisher moved into the starting lineup in a Week 3 win over Troy and remained there for the rest of the year.
He led the team with 108 tackles (51 solo) with six for a loss and 1.5 sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked tied for 44th among all FBS linebackers with 42 stops, a stat the site defines as tackles that constitute a "failure" for the offense.
Fisher emerged as an immediate leader as well.
“I used to tell the linebackers at the time, especially the mic (middle linebacker), you are the general — whatever you say, we are going to follow,” Kromah said. “I used to tell Fish that every single week. He stepped up to the plate, you saw the passion.”
Kromah, who opened training camp with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent, would know better than anybody. He led JMU in defensive snaps last season (749) and Fisher was second (741).
Fisher grew so comfortable in his role that he would rib the defensive lineman by sometimes making the calls in the huddle with a high-pitched voice.
“I told him during a walkthrough once, he’s got to put some bass in the defense,” Kromah said, with a laugh. “I don't want to hear a high voice when you making these calls and adjustments. He would joke around and do it on purpose sometimes.”
More:James Carpenter's escape from JMU gives IU one of college football's most-used DTs
Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher’s study habits fuel his success
Fisher took a page from his own head coach after his promising freshman season.
"I spent a lot of hours in the film room just kind of perfecting what I thought I could do in this defense and fitting the scheme a bit better than being able to know the entire defense as a whole, not just my role,” Fisher said.
It’s why he was so prepared to take over as a starter when Jones went down with an injury and went on to earn Third Team All-Sun Belt honors.
“It's not fun to sit behind people,” Fisher said, with a smile. “I got sick of that early in my college career. I just put in as many hours as I could."
He’s relied on the same approach in recent months to prepare for his jump into the Big Ten. He’s combed through cut ups looking for weaknesses in his own game —the “little details” that Cignetti’s coaching staff likes to stress —and scouted other top linebackers in the conference to look for ways they impact the game.
Those sessions led him to spending time next to IU wide receiver Elijah Sarratt on the jugs machine during spring practice.
“Pass drops, I thought they could have been a lot cleaner and efficient (last season),” Fisher said. “A lot of PBUs last year should have been interceptions if I could catch a football. I worked a lot on that. Little things like that and turn those things into more advantages."
Fisher had received a strong coverage grade (71.9) from Pro Football Focus last year. He allowed 34 catches on 48 targets for 265 yards (133 after the catch), but had one interception and seven pass-breakups.
According to the site, quarterbacks targeting him only had a 75.4 passer rating. That was the second best number among JMU’s starters behind freshman All-American corner D’Angelo Ponds.
Fisher wants to maintain that standard this fall.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
