Cole Fisher: Mercer’s secret weapon

Image: Marianna Bacallao
Cole Fisher cooling off on the sidelines of the Mercer versus Tennessee Tech home game.
October 5, 2016
Cole Fisher stands ready behind the holder, preparing himself for the kick. The center snaps the ball. The holder catches it, sets it up, and waits. Fisher nails the ball with a powerful kick and the ball soars through the air and passes through the uprights. Cole Fisher, the Mercer Bears’ starting kicker, has just increased the team’s lead to seven points with a 49-yard field goal, breaking a school record.
That was the scene late in the fourth quarter of Mercer’s first win of the season against Tennessee Tech. During this game, Fisher scored two field goals and four extra points.
During his two years as a Mercer Bear, he has played in six games, successfully kicked seven field goals and nine extra points, and has kicked off for a total of 291 yards.
Many fans wonder what goes through a kicker’s head when they’re kicking a field goal, but Fisher tries to clear his mind when he’s lining up for a kick.
“A lot of kickers get themselves into trouble from thinking too much,” Fisher said. “I have a couple cue words, like when I’m taking my steps and lining myself up, but that’s it.”
Fisher played soccer until he was nine years old. Then, he decided to try football, but he was strictly a position player.
When his coaches found out he had played soccer, they asked if he wanted to try being a kicker. After a bit of practice and the necessary adjustment from kicking a soccer ball to kicking a football, he began to excel as a kicker.
Fisher said he has always enjoyed seeing other kickers’ success in their football careers and hopes to follow in their footsteps.

Marianna Bacallao is a senior Journalism and English double-major. She recently completed an internship with Georgia Public Broadcasting, where her work...
The Cluster’s comments section is meant to be a place for respectful conversation and reflection on issues and events affecting students at Mercer University. Comments are moderated by the student staff of The Cluster to ensure that those made visible on the website reflect these standards. Harassment, hate, spam and personal attacks on staff members will not be approved. This does not mean that critical comments will be rejected. We welcome diverse perspectives on our reporting and on students’ experiences at Mercer University. Comments will not be approved unless a valid name and email address are submitted. Please also note that our comment moderation system logs IP addresses associated with every comment submitted.
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.