Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 29, 2022 17 But in a way, Fisher starting was still one of the more fascinating storylines tied to the Fiesta Bowl. He hadn't lost the luster of the shiny new potential future first-round pick he came in as. It takes a possible first-round NFL Draft pick to know one, after all. "He's still the big Blake Fisher that we know from the first game at Florida State and fall ball and spring ball and every- thing," defensive end Isaiah Foskey said in the weeks leading up to the game. Still, Fisher had only played one quar- ter and some change all season. Bar- ring another injury, people were going to get to see him play a full four quar- ters in a top-10 matchup with a fellow true freshman in Joe Alt bookending the other side of the line at left tackle. In a perfect world, those would be Notre Dame's two starting tackles for at least the next two years. Talk about buzz. Fisher only al- lowed two quarter- back pressures in 72 drop-backs against the Cowboys. It was only one game, but it was still enough to come to a con- c l u s i o n w i t h a s much finality as the end of a Quentin Tarantino film: Fisher would unques- tionably start for Notre Dame at tackle for however long he stayed in South Bend — and for however long he stayed healthy, too, for that matter. "He has all the traits that you're look- ing for in terms of developing into a great player," Freeman said. THE UPS AND DOWNS Not every comeback story is smooth sailing. Most aren't. Fisher found that out the hard way when he was the lowest-graded offen- sive player per Pro Football Focus game grades in the Irish's Week 3 win over California. Fisher logged a game grade of 46.9. His classmate on the other end of the line, Alt, led the Irish offense with a grade of 94.2. Yes. The grades con- cluded Alt had played more than twice as well as Fisher. It was Freeman's first win as Notre Dame's head coach. The Irish captured the victory in junior quarterback Drew Pyne's first career start while wearing green jerseys for the first time since 2018. Notre Dame legend Manti Te'o was in attendance, too. A picture-per- fect day for just about everybody. Everybody but Fisher, perhaps. He didn't play well. And that had be- come a bit of a theme in the early go- ing. Fisher wasn't making those "wow" plays that left people thinking there wasn't anybody else like him across the country. Fisher allowed a sack in Week 1, a pair of quarterback hits in Week 2 and a couple quarterback hurries in Week 3. His play was inconsistent and sporadic. It was probably unfair for perfection to be the expectation. Until Sept. 10 of this year, Fisher had never started a game at Notre Dame Stadium. And just the third start of his career and first of this season came in front of 102,780 rowdy, loud and proud Ohio State Buckeyes fans vehemently rooting against him and the Irish every time they took the field. Even high-end talents like Fisher have growing pains in environments like that. They don't magically go away in far more friendly ones like when 77,620 cheered him on in South Bend either. "It took a little minute for me to get comfortable," Fisher said. "Just getting adjusted and getting back into it. For me this year, it's been about improving and growing. I just have to try to be the best Blake Fisher — not try to be like anybody else. Just being the best me." The best Blake Fisher will work just fine for Notre Dame offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. It will work just fine for Notre Dame in general. In the fifth game of the season, Fisher was the second highest-graded offensive player per PFF for the Irish in a 28-20 vic- tory over then-No. 16 BYU in the Sham- rock Series Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Fisher's grade was 81.9. The only player with a better one? Junior tight end Michael Mayer at 92.5. Mayer caught 11 passes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns while breaking multiple Notre Dame tight end records in the process. Good company for Fisher, differing positions aside. "You can see there's a very talented player there and someone that's learn- ing on the job and learning how to be the best player he can be," Hiestand said. THE SOFT SIDE Fisher has a tattoo on his forearm of a holy cross. On one side of it is the word "faith." On the other, "fear." Faith over fear. He also has a tattoo of Breonna on his shoulder. She goes where he goes. One of his frequent stops is the YMCA of Greater Michiana. Behind the big, burly brick house of an offensive lineman is the soft side of a gentle giant built on the foundation of such a loving relation- ship with his late sister and an unwaver- ing will to help brighten the days of local youngsters. "Blake Fisher is larger than life, and the kids absolutely l o v e h i m ," s a i d Charles King III, YMCA of Greater Michiana Director of Community and Urban Youth Ser- vices. "He's very articulate, and he's very smart. He's able to scale down and talk to the kids, understand where they are and where they're coming from." That's a trait Fisher picked up in in- teracting with Breonna. She couldn't communicate verbally, but the two had a way of conveying thoughts and feel- ings to each other without speaking. Fisher sported the YMCA logo on his cleats during Notre Dame's "Cleats For A Cause" game against UNLV Oct. 22. Just like Breonna is with him every step of the way, the charity that helped shape him was as well for four quarters. Fisher was a devoted "Y kid" growing up. Now he's the one today's Y kids look up to — literally and emotionally. "He's a big teddy bear when it comes to this stuff and giving back," Notre Dame director of player personnel Dave Pelo- quin said. "It's always been important to him. When you recruited him and you know his family and you know his mom and dad, family is very important to him. "That initiative of giving back is really who he is to his core." ✦ "He's a big teddy bear when it comes to this stuff and giving back. It's always been important to him. When you recruited him and you know his family and you know his mom and dad, family is very important to him. That initiative of giving back is really who he is to his core." NOTRE DAME DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL DAVE PELOQUIN ON FISHER