Dixie College ground zero for OT recruit

St. George, Utah, is miles away from any major metropolitan cities, but for college football coaches looking for one of the nation’s top junior college players, it is ground zero.

With the nation’s No. 1 team, Dixie College in St. George is also home to quite possibly the nation’s top juco offensive tackle. Meet Scott Fisher, a 6-foot-8, 330-pound prospect that has already attracted attention from some of the nation’s top programs.

Just like most junior college prospects, Fisher has an interesting story to tell about how he ended up at Dixie.

“I’m originally from Northern California,” Fisher said. “I grew up in Heyward, in Nappa and in Vacaville. Then I moved to Utah, where I’ve lived in Dixie for the last 10 years. I went to Dixie High, and me and my twin brother were heavily recruited.

“We signed a letter of intent with UofU (Utah) and some stuff happened with that, so we both switched to BYU and went up there. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it there. I thought I was getting screwed over pretty bad, and I wasn’t seeing the field as much as I should have been. I said to myself that I knew I could go start somewhere else.

“I know the coaches here at Dixie, so I called them and asked them if I could come down here and play for them. I knew that this was the right way to get to me to the big time.”

It’s a move that has paid off.

Fisher was named a NJCAA 2004 preseason All-American and he’s helped Dixie off to a 2-0 start and a No. 1 ranking in most junior college polls.

“I’m playing my best,” Fisher said. “I think I graded out about 90 percent last game, and the game before that at 80 percent. That’s just me saying what I graded out at, because I think the coaches had me a little bit higher. I’m just a tough guy to satisfy.”

But he’s getting there.

After leaving BYU, Fishers’ twin brother, Paul, decided to stay there in Provo and attempt to work things out. Paul eventually grew frustrated also and just in the last few weeks transferred to Dixie, where he is quickly becoming a hit.

It was a move that has made Scott extremely happy.

“I kept telling him that he needed to come with me and get down here,” Fisher said. “He wanted to stick it out and keep giving it a shot. I respected his decision to do that because he had to do what was best for him. He eventually decided that it was time for a change with him, too, and I’m happy that we’re back together. He’s now a year behind me, but it would be really great if we could end up going to the same school.”

Enter Arizona State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Oregon and quite a few other schools. Those are the teams that have jumped on board early and let Fisher, a December graduate that will have three years to play three seasons, they’re offering him a scholarship.

“There are a lot of teams,” Fisher said. “Oklahoma is sending me a lot of stuff and calling me. The coach from USC is calling me a lot. Arizona State and Oregon said they want us both. South Carolina, oh gees, it’s a good problem to have. It’s hard to make that decision since so many schools that are good want me to come visit them and play for them.”

Fisher said he’s going look long and hard at depth charts when it comes time to make a decision.

“I don’t want to go somewhere where I would have to play behind a senior,” he said. “I’m going to look really hard at the depth chart situations at the schools recruiting me.

“I don’t have any visits set yet. South Carolina has talked about getting me out there, and they’re going to come see me play. My brother-in-law works at Oregon and they want me to come up there for a visit, and I’d like to also go visit USC and Oklahoma.”

There is another player on the Dixie squad that is going to be heavily recruited. His name is Mark Taylor (6-9, 300) and he’s a fellow offensive tackle. However, in the first few days of practice now that Paul Fisher is there, a real battle for the starting spot has developed. It has to be a blessing indeed to have not just two, but three major high level Division I offensive tackle prospects on your team.