No. 32 — LB Cole Fisher

No. 32 . . .

Last year, senior linebacker Cole Fisher (6-2, 236) was No. 37 on this list with his main attributes being experience and depth-filling. He didn't do anything, really, during the 2014 season to advance his cause. He made eight tackles in 13 games. He mostly saw special teams and didn't see much, if any, regular time on defense during a season in which you have to objectively say the linebackers struggled.

And then this spring happened.

First, in West Des Moines, Fisher picked off No. 2 quarterback Tyler Wiegers and returned it for a faux touchdown. Then again during the spring scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium, Fisher snagged another Wiegers pass.

Now, the fifth-year senior is in the mix for playing time. Just like that. When it seemed as if the door was shutting on a career, a lively spring showing gave Fisher some juice.

'I just want to emphasize that Cole Fisher and Travis Perry both had really good springs,' head coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Changes . . .

By the time he got to be a senior, James Morris had something like four different linebackers coaches and two defensive coordinators at Iowa. I remember asking him about it and he just laughed through the question. It's probably just trivia, but since 2010 (a span of six seasons now), Iowa has had Darrell Wilson, LeVar Woods and Jim Reid as the linebackers coaches.

Reid is in charge of the whole group this season. Last year, duties split between Reid (inside) and Woods (outside). Woods is coaching tight ends this year.

What does this mean (if anything)? A good LB coach can help. He can help inspire, instill confidence and teach the player what he's seeing and, hopefully, guide him into the right position on the field. Mainly, though, a good LB coach has good players. This year's group still is searching for that stamp. Lots of short resumes, a couple of seniors who haven't grabbed a ton of playing time, the 2015 core LB group is largely unknown.

Outlook . . .

Actually, Fisher was No. 37 in this exercise two years in a row. That says he was on the depth/special teams circuit. This spring he took a few strides to rise above that. Can he sustain that momentum? Five players are in the mix at LB and Fisher is solidly in that group. Does that translate to playing time? It might. If not, he'll likely be a fixture on a few special teams units.

Every athlete who signs up with Iowa football has designs on playing on the highest level, three-year starter and all of that sort of glory. It's an incredible emotional driver and a really big reason why these guys can survive as athletes on this level. Your ego and standing is challenged every practice, every Saturday in the fall.

Where am I going with this? For the third consecutive season, Fisher earned academic all-Big Ten last year. He's a civil engineering major and he'll likely make that 4-for-4 this year.

That's not a million tackles and the big draft board and I don't want this factlet to seem like a door prize, but that is college football and worthy of notice.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com