By now, the college football world knows the story. Indiana has put together a historic campaign under Curt Cignetti, turning a roster full of overlooked and under recruited players into a snarling, disciplined contender. The Hoosiers have won with attitude and execution, and a huge part of that identity has come from the defense. At the center of it stands senior linebacker Aiden Fisher.
Fisher arrived in Bloomington for his junior season and is now closing out his college career with a chance to win a national title. He spent his first two seasons at James Madison, helping the Dukes win and build a standard that often exceeded national expectations. When Cignetti left JMU for Indiana, Fisher hit the transfer portal with one destination in mind. He knew he needed to follow his coach. He knew that culture and direction mattered. He made the leap and he has not looked back.
Stepping into a locker room full of new faces and fresh arrivals, Fisher understood he needed to do more than just learn a new playbook. He had to carry some of that JMU edge into Bloomington and help shape what Indiana could become. His intensity, competitiveness, and need to win filled that void instantly and the team noticed.
“I think at the end of the day, they all saw the fire I had, the desire I had,” Fisher said Saturday during National Championship Media Day. “I want to win and I want to be really good at what I do, but I think they all appreciated that. It was something new to the Indiana culture after the last couple years of down years. So, we had a group of guys that were hungry to win, and I was excited to kind of bring that to this team, and everybody kind of gravitated towards it a little bit.”
Fisher has been central to Indiana’s cultural shift and on-field surge. The turnaround began with an 11–2 season in 2024 and has now carried the Hoosiers into 2025 at 15–0 with a shot at the National Championship. Countless players dream about these stages. Few ever reach them. For Fisher, the idea of playing in a title game once felt unimaginable.
“My mom’s, she’s been so excited about it,” Fisher said. “I’ve gotten a lot of messages this week from her just saying [to] just sit back and reflect for a minute. Back when I was in high school, I probably never could have pictured, first of all, playing in the Big-10 and then playing in the National Championship, so for me, it’s been a week just talking to them and reflecting on a lot of things and then just being in the moment. I think that’s their biggest thing for me is appreciate where you are. Your hard work has gotten you here, and just appreciate being here and what led you here.”
That work has defined Fisher’s college career. In two seasons at Indiana, he has appeared in 27 games and missed only one due to injury. During that span, he has compiled 211 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, two interceptions including a pick six, and a forced fumble. He has also earned first-team All-America recognition both years in Bloomington. His availability, productivity, and presence have been pillars of Indiana’s historic run, and now they have positioned him to chase a national title and then turn his attention toward the NFL Draft.
Still, as much as Fisher appreciates the magnitude of the moment, reflection will have to wait.
“I think for me if I were to give myself that time to think about the history of it, it would kind of sidetrack me a little bit from the game itself,” Fisher said Saturday. “Obviously, we know what’s at stake. But for me, it’s just another game. It’s going to be another game of four quarters of 15-minute football. So it’s all about just being in the moment, coming out on top, and doing whatever you have to do to do that is the biggest thing for me.”
For Fisher and many of his teammates, dwelling on the history they have already made would only get in the way of the task in front of them. There will be time for reflection, just not yet.
“After this game, I will definitely sit down and reflect, but right now, I think I’m so in the moment and I’m so focused on this game and I just want to win this game that it’s been hard to kind of reflect on that,” Fisher said. “But I do know how much this team means to the Bloomington community and to Indiana as a state itself. I would be a fool not to recognize that. Our fans do a great job of letting us know they appreciate us.”
The stakes are clear. A national title is on the line and everyone in the building understands what Monday represents. Yet the message inside the locker room remains grounded and direct. Prepare. Execute. Empty the tank. For Fisher, it comes down to one idea that has followed him from high school to JMU to Indiana: give everything on every snap because this is all or nothing.