After Maryland returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Music City Bowl in December, Auburn fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Terps cornerback Perry Fisher scooped the ball up right in front of the Maryland sideline, giving the Terps possession with a 31-7 lead.
“I was just seeing everyone point at the ball,” Fisher said. “… I didn’t even know the play was still going. … I just jumped on it just in case and it worked.”
While the Terps could not capitalize on that turnover and the great field position, Maryland did more than enough to win their third straight bowl game, a 31-13 victory against Auburn in Nashville. Fisher had a breakout game with three tackles, a sack and two pass breakups along with his fumble recovery.
With senior defensive backs Beau Brade, Ja’Quan Sheppard and Tarheeb Still now pursuing opportunities in the NFL, Fisher is expected to take on a bigger role in the Maryland secondary as a redshirt sophomore in 2024.
“I saw the light go on for Perry,” head coach Michael Locksley said when describing Fisher’s practices leading up to the Music City Bowl. “… He’s a very versatile guy and what I’m hoping to see is maturity because the time he spent in our program translates to the consistency from him.”
The defensive backfield is still fairly new for Fisher, who originally played quarterback at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns during his last two years of high school. He spent some time exploring different positions during his senior year, playing wide receiver and safety. Fisher secured a few interceptions during his limited action in the secondary.
“When I did play in those few games at safety in high school that’s the most free I’ve felt,” he said.
Fisher was a consensus three-star recruit in high school, and Maryland was the best offer he received. The 6-foot-3, 191-pound cornerback dreams of playing in the NFL and knew that the Terps would provide him the best opportunity to achieve this dream.
Maryland originally recruited Fisher as a wide receiver. Before his senior year of high school, Fisher visited Maryland and worked out at both receiver and defensive back. He had a choice to make, but it turned out to be a relatively easy one.
“Locksley always said it was up to me what I wanted to play,” Fisher said. “… [While still in high school], I told him that I wanted to play defense. I want to play corner because I felt like I could make more plays over there.”
Maryland has had a ton of recent success developing defensive backs, having sent Deonte Banks, Jakorian Bennett and Nick Cross to the NFL. Brade, Sheppard and Still hope to follow suit in late April. Fisher has learned a lot from these players.
During fall camp, the entire team stays at a nearby hotel and each player gets assigned a roommate. Fisher was paired with Banks during his first training camp in 2022, and Fisher credits Banks with helping him get up to speed. The Giants drafted Banks in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
“Just watching him, Tarheeb Still and Jakorian Bennett on the field every day helped me to know what I can and can’t do in certain coverages,” Fisher said. “… To this day I still watch some of their film on YouTube and I just look at what I can do to improve my game and take it to the next level.”
Being a former quarterback gave him an advantage at his new position, too. Fisher had an easy time reading what formation the offense was in, giving him an idea of the forthcoming play. The cornerback just needed to learn how to read coverages from a defensive perspective.
“It was really just the physicality part of it that’s different from the quarterback mechanics to the cornerback mechanics,” Fisher said. “That was the big difference.”
“[For] cornerback, everything has to be on point,” he added. “… It’s much harder because you’re running backward at full speed and trying to stop while guarding somebody that’s running normally at you.”
Fisher developed these skills as he moved up the depth chart before the bowl game, leading to more snaps. Defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Brian Williams saw the same light go on for Fisher that Locksley noticed.
Williams identifies the redshirt sophomore as a player with potential. With two years under his belt, Fisher looks to build on his performance in Nashville and play an instrumental role in the Maryland secondary in 2024.
“It wasn’t a surprise as much as it is just where he is on schedule,” Williams said. “Now it’s up to him to [expand] on what he did in the bowl game and continue to get better. We are excited about Perry.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
Originally published April 17, 2024