Nebraska linebacker Sean Fisher has been a solid player for the Cornhuskers over the past few seasons, but he will no longer be with the team as he announced his plans to enroll in medical school next fall.
The senior had the option of petitioning the NCAA for a sixth season with the Cornhuskers after dealing with an injury, but instead he decided to head towards his next stage in life by going to medical school.
Fisher said Monday it's "time to move on" and that he will put all of his efforts into preparing for medical school. He also said that he appreciated the time coach Bo Pelini gave him to finalize his decision.
"The opportunity to be part of this football program the past five years has been a great experience and one that is difficult to walk away from, but I made the determination it was time to move on," Fisher said in a statement released through the team. "I am planning to enroll in medical school in the fall and am putting all my energy toward preparing for that. I appreciate Coach [Bo] Pelini and the coaching staff leaving the door open for me to consider returning to football and giving me the time to finalize my decision."
Fisher broke his leg in 2010 in preseason practice and missed the entire season. Since he was injured before the regular-season started, he would have been eligible to petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility. Other players have petitioned successfully in the past, including former Houston quarterback Case Keenum, who tore an ACL during his senior year in 2010. He petitioned successfully and earned another season in 2011, setting numerous passing records.
This past season Fisher started five of 14 games at linebacker for Nebraska and recorded 48 tackles, ranked ninth on the team. Fisher is one of the top academic football players on the team and carries a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in business administration/pre-medicine.
According to ESPN.com, Fisher received academic all-conference honors from both the Big Ten and the Big 12 during his career and earned second-team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) in each of the past two years.
Fisher was not a primary starter during his Nebraska career, but appeared in 34 games for the team while starting 12 of them over his three years of playing. He notched 87 tackles, including eight for loss, to go along with a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and three quarterback hurries. During his redshirt freshman season, Fisher recorded 35 tackles before breaking his leg and missing the entire 2010 season.
The best game of the year for Fisher statistically was the Big 10 Championship game against Wisconsin. He recorded a season-high seven solo tackles and had eight total as the team lost 70-31 to the Badgers.
Fisher was a star at Millard North High Scholl in Nebraska and was one of the first players to commit to the team in 2008. He played both offense and defense in high school, lining up at running back and in the secondary while also returning punts and kicks. His versatility made him a valuable player for Nebraska, who went 10-4 this season overall while finishing first in the Big Ten Legends division with a 7-1 record.
The team started the year with a win over Southern Miss before falling 36-30 to the UCLA Bruins. Following the loss, Nebraska won three straight games, including a 73-7 demolishing of Idaho State. The team lost to Ohio State 63-38, but then rebounded with six straight wins to end the season, including a 28-24 win over Michigan State.
In the final win over Iowa on Nov. 23, Fisher had four tackles before adding seven solo stops in the championship game against Wisconsin. In the final game against Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, Fisher had one solo tackle.
Nebraska will be a bit thin at linebacker after Fisher leaves the team, since both leading tackler Will Compton and Alonzo Whaley will need to be replaced. The team has a solid batch of young players and recruits, including David Santos, Zaire Anderson and Michael Rose next fall.
The Cornhuskers were inconsistent on defense this season, allowing the 58th most points against in the nation with 27 per game. The team allowed 70 points and 539 rushing yards to Wisconsin in the conference title game, something Pelini and the staff will need to correct if the team will be successful in 2013.
