Big Red Blitz: Nebraska DB coach Travis Fisher talks secondary growth

GRAND ISLAND - Because there was some remaining paperwork still yet to be filed, Travis Fisher wasn't quite ready to talk in detail about one of Nebraska's most significant offseason additions.

The Husker secondary coach helped land a commitment from former five-star Ohio State transfer defensive back Tyreke Johnson last week.

It remains to be seen where Johnson will factor into an already tight cornerback battle opposite star senior Cam Taylor-Britt once fall camp kicks off in August.

But Fisher said, generally speaking, the goal was always to create competition in his room by bringing in as much talent as possible.

"The main objective for this thing is to always - and I'm not saying this in a mean way, but just a competitive way - try to out-recruit your room," Fisher said during his stop at the Bosselman Conference Center as part of the Big Red Blitz event on Tuesday.

"There's a lot of talent that's entering the room, and there's a lot of talent in the room. So just trying to make that room more competitive always in the goal."

Following the graduation of Dicaprio Bootle, the No. 2 cornerback spot was one of the only real question marks on Nebraska's defensive depth chart entering spring ball.

To their credit, returning players like Quinton Newsome, Braxton Clark, and Nadab Joseph all took advantage of their opportunities over NU's winter workouts and 15 spring practices.

But none had solidified himself as the clear starter at that spot going into the summer, which left the door open for the Huskers to potentially add a transfer to the mix if the right player became available.

Enter Johnson, the former No. 14 overall player in the 2018 class who attended Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity International, the same high school as NU safety Deontai Williams.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Johnson redshirted his first year and then played in a total of 12 games over the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Fisher said his recruiting pitch to all his defensive backs, including Johnson, is that the opportunity to see the field in games is almost entirely dependent on what they make of it.

"The recruiting pitch is you have an opportunity to come in and compete right away and get developed," Fisher said. "Just being realistic, it's not like I have a load of five-star players just sitting in the room where it's going to be hard for you to even tough the field.

"Being realistic, you have an opportunity to come in right away and compete for a lot of playing time."

One coaching philosophy Fisher picked up years ago was never to prioritize one player over another based solely on recruiting profile.

Whether it's a former five-star recruit or a smalltown walk-on, Fisher said everyone would be treated as a starter in his group.

"When you recruit guys that are highly rated guys ... some guys, it's not all guys, but some guys come in, and they've been told a lot of positive stuff, 'Hey, you're this, and this, and this,' coming out of high school and even junior college. But then, especially when you come in my room ... those stars don't matter anymore," Fisher said.

'"What matters is the work you put in, being a great teammate, and coming to work every day. That's what matters to me. A lot of guys struggle with that until they understand it. Not just saying that's Nadab, but he was a highly recruited guy, and he didn't understand a whole lot. He's doing a great job now understanding a lot right now."

***Fisher said both Myles Farmer and Braxton Clark were right on track to be fully healthy for the start of fall camp after being limited during spring ball with injuries.

"To be honest with you, Myles Farmer, I could've gone live with him in the spring," Fisher said. "He limped for a week, then the rest of the spring, you couldn't tell he had an injury. He begged me to tackle, and I just couldn't put him out there."

Fisher added that he made it a point to play Clark in the spring game longer than most of the other top cornerbacks to get him some extra reps.

***Fisher said Nebraska did a lot of crosstraining in the secondary this spring, including Deontai Williams getting some decent reps at cornerback. Fisher said Williams wanted to work at corner and could be a potential depth option there if needed.

***Few coaches welcomed the return of in-person recruiting this month more than Fisher.

"That's big for me," Fisher said. "As soon as I was able to do it, I shot off like a rocket because I'm more of a personal recruiter anyway. Just being able to see guys and be able to see families and have guys see me, to be able to show them some things and react a little bit, jump out of my seat, love on them a little bit, that's my style of recruiting. So it's been excellent."

***One of the surprise stories of the spring was walk-on cornerback Phalen Sanford, who was one of the top performers during winter conditioning and even started for the White team in the Spring Game.

Fisher said Sanford would definitely be in the mix to make the rotation this fall.

"He's in the crockpot. That's what I call it," Fisher said. "Phalen was just being a sponge in the film room, asking the right questions, learning what he needed to learn. It doesn't matter who you are in that room; you're going to get treated like a starter.

"Phalen earned himself some playing time this spring, and he went out and had a great spring game and had a great spring."

***Fisher put to rest any question about what position - safety or linebacker - Omaha (Neb.) Westside freshman Koby Bretz would be starting out with the Huskers this season.

"Oh, he's going to be with me," Fisher said with a grin.