Fatherhood allows FSU's Fisher to attend elite 7-on-7 event

WINDERMERE, Fla. -- Call it a loophole or a fatherhood clause. Label it a dad attending his son’s weekend sporting event. Any of the three descriptions works, but all are to say that Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher was permitted to slap on an FSU hat and watch one of the nation’s best 7-on-7 tournaments on Saturday afternoon.

Fisher was certainly the only college head coach in attendance at the adidas East Coast Invitational, as NCAA bylaws prohibit such activity unless, of course, a coach has a family member participating in the event.

Enter Trey Fisher, a class of 2020 quarterback that participated in the event and the reason Fisher was able to set up his lawn chair and watch hundreds of college-bound football prospects play touch football from the sideline of an Orlando-area high school.

“I knew coach [Fisher] was coming today,” said five-star Florida State running back commit James Cook. “He told me, but it makes you want to play better, you know? You’re aware he’s out here watching you.”

Fisher was limited to “bump” contact with recruits at the event. There were no extended conversations with players or recruiting pitches made. Still, his presence made an impression. Calling an appearance by a college coach at a 7-on-7 event “rare” is understating the point.

“When I first looked over there during the game I was like, ‘Man, that guy looks like Jimbo Fisher,’” said Terrell Perriman, a three-star wide receiver from Miami Central High School. “My teammates told me it was him and I didn’t think it was. I just thought it was a guy that looked like him.”

And while Fisher’s primary concern was watching his son compete for his 7-on-7 team, Tight Action Sports, his folding chair spent most of the day located in a spot where Fisher could easily view the action on two fields with a simple turn of the head.

Turns out, fatherhood has it perks.

“It’s weird seeing him out here,” said four-star defensive back Jamien Sherwood, an uncommitted prospect with a Florida State offer to his name. “We walked in together – at the same time. I saw him the second I showed up.”

Fisher and his Florida State program finished the past recruiting cycle with the No. 5 class in America. The Seminoles currently have six commits in the class of 2018.