BLOOMINGTON — Last spring, receiver Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher resided in Harrisonburg, Virginia, navigating through football practice at James Madison University.
Sarratt and Fisher played under head coach Curt Cignetti, who boasted offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines as his top assistants.
But that was then. This is now.
Fisher sat on the right side of Indiana football’s team room inside Memorial Stadium just past 11 a.m. Thursday, watching as Sarratt addressed reporters for the first time in Bloomington.
For Sarratt, who donned a black hooded T-shirt with “Indiana football” planted in white letters across his chest, the adjustment was nothing new.
He experienced a similar process last offseason, transferring from Football Championship Subdivision program Saint Francis University to James Madison, a Division I school in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
But for Fisher, a Fredericksburg, Virginia, native who took the podium Thursday wearing a black T-shirt with “Hoosiers” spelled in red block letters on the front, such a shift comes with sacrifices outside of football.
“My family was at every single game that we played this year,” Fisher said. “So, that was the biggest challenge — knowing they’re not going to be at every game, which my family’s done a great job with. They helped me get here.”
Fredericksburg is some 90 miles away from Harrisonburg, a doable drive on a Saturday afternoon. Now, Fisher’s nearly 11 hours away from his family — and they encouraged it.
“We want you to go,” he recalled his family saying. “We want you to be on the biggest stage, show why you’re supposed to be here.”
Fisher’s move away from his family was sparked by his interest in following his newfound football family.
Indiana hired Cignetti on Nov. 30, and he brought Haines with him to Bloomington. Haines was Fisher’s coordinator and position coach at James Madison, watching as the now-junior rose from a player used in specific packages to a starter and, ultimately, an All-Sun Belt selection last season.
Haines is also a key factor in why Fisher, who was an all-district quarterback and running back at Riverbend High School, plays defense in college — Haines, along with Cignetti, sold him on development out of high school, and then sold him on Bloomington two years later, leading Fisher to choose the Hoosiers over another unnamed school.
“The biggest thing for me was continuing my development with Coach Haines and Coach Cignetti,” Fisher said. “The system they put me in and where I see myself growing so far not only as a player but as a person, as a leader. I didn’t see a reason to stop that. It’s definitely something I want to keep chasing.”
Fisher was a run-first quarterback as a high school junior who transitioned to running back as a senior while starring defensively. He discovered he didn’t enjoy being hit — instead, he prefers being on the other side of collisions.
But his time playing offense came with several other lessons destined to impact the Hoosiers’ defense this fall.
“I think it’s really cool now looking back at it,” Fisher said. “I have a better viewpoint of the offense, what they want to do, the things they’re trying to do schematically, what they want to attack us in. So, it helps me understand what our weaknesses are and how we can kind of admit to those as we go.”
Upon committing full-time to linebacker, Fisher saw an avenue for growth that included a road to the NFL. He thinks he’s been on an upward climb since being mentored by Haines and Cignetti.
Now, Fisher’s ready to return the favor — to the coaches who trusted him and the new teammates approaching him with questions.
Fisher has embraced a leadership role on Indiana’s defense, watching as teammates gravitate toward his energy and intricate knowledge of Haines’ scheme. It’s an effort-driven process he said he enjoys.
Be it assembling a group to hit the golf course or go out to dinner, Fisher is working to build a tight-knit defense founded on continuity, helping set the stage for a bountiful 2024 season under the guidance of Cignetti and Haines.
“It’s a really explosive defense,” Fisher said. “It allows players to play fast and play free. I think that’s what attracts so many players and allows us to be so successful.”
Sarratt entered his senior year of high school in 2021 looking for an opportunity. He received one from Saint Francis, a private Catholic institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania, which has a population of just over 1,000 people.
By the end of 2022, the picture surrounding Sarratt shifted — as had the Red Flash’s record books.
Sarratt caught a touchdown pass in eight straight games. He tied the single-season program record with 13 touchdown receptions, which ranked No. 5 in the FCS. He was a first-team All-Northeast Conference selection and an FCS Freshman All-American.
But Sarratt wanted more — specifically, the chance to play with his brother, Josh, who’s a safety at James Madison. Combining family with football, Sarratt decided the Dukes were too good to pass up.
“You don’t get a lot of chances to play with your brother,” Sarratt said. “I’ve played with him in high school, so to have the opportunity to go into college and play with him was something I wanted to pursue. Everything that JMU was telling me, the type of player they wanted me to be in the system, I liked it.”
Sarratt netted similar results in his lone season with the Dukes as he did with the Red Flash, earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors after ranking No. 11 nationally in receiving yards (1,191) and tied for No. 22 in receptions (82).
Then, Cignetti left for Indiana. Shanahan, his play caller and position coach, followed. So did several of his teammates.
Sarratt wasn’t sure if he’d stay or go, citing the NCAA’s two-time transfer rule which initially made players sit out one season if they transferred twice as undergraduates. The rule was changed to allow immediate eligibility in mid-December.
Once cleared to play, Sarratt had several available options, but only visited one: Indiana.
“The coaching staff talked to me almost as soon as they were able to,” Sarratt said. “Things were smooth from there. They weren’t pressuring me to commit right away; they knew other schools were interested in me. Came down here, heard what they had to say and came here.”
Sarratt believes in the coaching staff, noting he’s placed in spots he wants to be and receives plenty of touches. He’s similarly fond of the strength and conditioning coaches, most of whom were at James Madison last year and played an integral part in Sarratt’s decision to pick Indiana.
Now, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound Sarratt finds himself facing the same challenge he did last offseason: acclimating and establishing his role in the offense.
But this time, he’s taking on the task with a newfound trait: patience.
“Some days are not going to go how you want,” Sarratt said. “You’ve just got to be consistent. You might catch one pass today; you might catch eight passes tomorrow. You’ve just got to try to weather the storm and get better every single day.”
Sarratt also has the benefit of playing for many of the same coaches who he was directly involved with at James Madison. He already knows the scheme Shanahan wants to run and how Cignetti wants his practices to look.
Indiana sixth-year senior offensive lineman Mike Katic said March 28 the Hoosiers’ spring practices are more concise, while seventh-year linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar added there’s an emphasis on quality over quantity.
For returning Hoosiers, this is an adjustment. For Sarratt, the practices are the same.
He’s worked with the first-team offense the past two sessions, playing both outside and in the slot while finding his gear in Bloomington — and leaning on the principles he knows the coaching staff values.
“Trust and be very detail-oriented,” Sarratt said. “They’re big on the details — if I’m one yard off my split, I’m wrong, which is good. You’ve got to be where they want you to be so the whole play works out.”
Sarratt and Fisher are just the tip of the iceberg for Indiana’s new-look roster. Seven other players transferred from James Madison to Indiana, making up nearly half of a 22-player transfer class.
Each player has a different story. Some, like Sarratt, are trying to continue their trend of dominating at each level they’ve played. Others, such as Fisher, want to prove their success in the Sun Belt translates to the Big Ten.
But all have the same mindset — and Indiana football, just seven spring practices into the Cignetti era, may be poised to follow.
“I look at it more like an opportunity to prove myself and show I belong here,” Fisher said. “I think a lot of the guys that transferred in, that’s why they’re here — we’re ready to compete on the biggest stage, and we’re excited for it.”
