Notre Dame Lineman Blake Fisher Is Hoping To Fulfill His Potential

Notre Dame offensive tackle Blake Fisher has immense potential, and he hopes to show that in the NFL

Oct 7, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Blake Fisher / Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 NFL Draft officially kicks off on Thursday, April 25th at 8 PM eastern time. Notre Dame is a school who could have as many as eight players drafted from their 2023 team, including former starting right tackle Blake Fisher.

It has been quite a journey for Fisher, who came to South Bend with a ton of high expectations. When looking back at his recruiting background, it should be no surprise that he has a chance to go high in this year’s draft. The profile, and projection, was one they seemed to get mostly right.

AS A RECRUIT

Coming into his Notre Dame career, Fisher was viewed as the “can’t miss recruit” and potential future first round NFL draft pick. A big reason for that was Fisher’s recruiting profile, which was fantastic coming out of Avon High School in Indiana.

Fisher was billed as a four-star recruit coming out by both ESPN and 247Sports, finishing as the No. 84 and No. 87 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class respectively. Rivals was a platform who was extremely bullish on the Indiana standout, ranking as a five-star recruit and the No. 26 overall player in the class.

The talented offensive tackle opted for the in-state Irish over a long list of impressive suitors. Some of Fisher’s top offers coming out included the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma, USC, Texas A&M, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Auburn, Nebraska, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, Iowa, Boston College, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas, Duke, Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern among others.

AS A COLLEGE PLAYER

As a player, Fisher started off his career with a bang. Coming in as an early enrollee, he impressed the coaches big time early on and was the talk of camp. He impressed so much that Fisher went into that first season as the starting left tackle for Notre Dame, a rare feat. A lot of expectations were set for him.

Unfortunately Fisher was injured during the first game of the season against Florida State, which cost him the majority of that first campaign. With Joe Alt taking over the left tackle spot, Fisher returned to the field during the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State at right tackle. He would hold down the right for the final two years of his Notre Dame career.

During those final two seasons, Fisher would start 25 games overall. While he was a pillar of the offensive line, and unquestionably a good player, Fisher never quite lived up to those massive expectations as a player for the Irish. There were some who thought Fisher would be better served with returning to school in 2024, but he opted to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2024 NFL Draft class.

AS A DRAFT PROSPECT

Early feedback had Fisher somewhere in the third to fourth round range when the draft officially kicks off. By all accounts, Fisher has continued to be a riser throughout the draft process. He had an overall good athletic showing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine physically and has interviewed well along the way.

It now appears that Fisher is a near lock to be selecting on the second day (rounds 2-3). The NFL is citing excitement over upside and Fisher's profile that could allow him to play a couple different spots on the offensive line. The top 100 seems in the cards for Fisher coming on Friday. 

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