West's Fisher draws D1 interest

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Jake Fisher
Brett Kenney
Morgan Tolle

May 13, 2010

QB Kenny, LB Tolle also open eyes of scouts

BY MIKE ECKERT meckert@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu May 13, 2010, 07:25 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Playing Division I college football looks to be in the cards for Jake Fisher.

The Traverse City West junior has been offered a scholarship by Central Michigan and others are likely to follow suit.

"He's probably going to be offered next week by Western and Bowling Green has been rumored," Titans coach Tim Wooer said. "Michigan State was in last week and really liked him. They'd like to get him down on campus soon and get him in front of coach Dantonio.

"Jake's got a lot of opportunities. It's just what is the best fit for Jake, for his family and for him academically."

Fisher isn't the only member of the Class of 2011 gaining collegiate interest at TC West. Quarterback Brett Kenny and linebacker Morgan Tolle have also been looked at as recruiters have visited northern Michigan.

"Maybe the question is who hasn't been up here," Wooer said. "Every school in Michigan has been through our door."

For Fisher, the offers come after a big offseason. Last fall he checked in as a 6-foot-4, 198-pound tight end. Now, he's 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds.

Most schools have looked at Fisher as an offensive tackle. But Central has expressed interest in keeping him at tight end while Western has considered putting him on the defensive line.

"That's kind of the dream to play tight end in college football," Fisher said. "(But) I would play anything. I just like football that much."

Michigan State and Northwestern are other schools that have shown interest in Fisher.

"He's an athlete," Wooer said. "In his highlight video we threw in some of his dunks on the basketball court. People like to see that. They don't want to see a guy that's 6-7, 300 pounds and can't move. They realize if he's an athlete, they can teach him how to play tackle and teach him how to get stronger in the weight room."

Tolle, who was an all-conference linebacker a year ago, benefits from being young for his graduating class. He won't turn 17 until next fall but is excited about getting collegiate looks.

"I really wanted to play college football," said Tolle, adding that he's known for a while that playing at the next level would be a possibility. "It was probably sophomore year when I got moved up to varsity is when it hit me."

Kenny has also enjoyed the idea of playing at the next level.

"I've been working hard most of my high school days," Kenny said. "Coach Wooer has been a big part of me getting recruited. Having colleges come in just makes me feel important and feel like I have a chance of doing it."

All three players will attend a number of camps in June and wait to see what offers come their way. Fisher said he hopes to make a decision before the summer is over.

For Fisher, a motivating force has been following scouting reports on fellow recruits — such as Ogemaw Heights' Anthony Zettel.

"I look at their stats and try to compare myself to them," Fisher said. "I try to make sure I'm doing everything I can because they're working hard every day, but I'm working hard, too. I want to make sure I'm doing the same things, or even more."

Fisher, Tolle and Kenny could join what has been a string of Division I players from TC West recently. Eric Gordon is a senior linebacker at Michigan State, Rocko Khoury and Darren Keyton will be sophomore offensive linemen at Michigan and Central Michigan, while Blake Goodell will be attending Northern Illinois as a center this fall.

"It's helped a lot," Fisher said of having northern Michigan players at Division I schools. "Having people down there that know and being able to ask them questions helps you out. And they know the coaches pretty well, so they can put in a good word for you."

Wooer agreed.

"There's a pipeline," he said. "If you send quality kids to a school, they're going to come back. That has a lot to do with the type of kids we have in Traverse City. Are they disciplined, are they good workers, are they high character kids? If the college that signs those kids are happy, they're certainly going to go back."