Sunday, April 18, 19992. CHARLES FISHER, CB, WEST VA.
Late bloomer may find himself starting
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Second-round draft pick Charles Fisher carries a familiar tag among recent Bengal selections: Late bloomer.
Charles Fisher
ESPN profile
Like first-round selection Akili Smith, as well as last year's second-round choice, cornerback Artrell Hawkins, Fisher is a player who helped raise his stock tremendously in his last year of college football. The 6-foot, 186-pound cornerback wasn't even a full-time starter until his final season at West Virginia.
“If you would have asked me last year at this time, I would have said no,” said Fisher, when asked about his status as the second pick in the second round. “I would have thought maybe I'd go as a sixth- or seventh-round choice, somewhere in that range.”
That changed with a three-interception, six-pass deflection effort last year that earned him second-team all-Big East honors at West Virginia, as well as with a solid showing at the Senior Bowl.
“We think there is a big upside to Mr. Fisher,” Bengals defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. “He's been an extra corner until his senior year, where he was a starting corner, and played very well all the way through. He continues to show improvement, has all the skills that are necessary to play the position and his best football is yet to come.”
The Bengals never hesitated in selecting Fisher, with LeBeau calling him the last quality corner on the board with NFL size. Character also worked in his favor — he came recommended by current Bengals' Canute Curtis and Hawkins, who both know him.
Those friendships also helped Fisher to keep up with the Bengals. He expressed no dismay about coming to a franchise that hasn't finished above .500 since 1990.
“I'm excited. I couldn't feel better,” Fisher said. “I feel I bring hard work (to the Bengals). I think I'm a cornerback that hasn't really reached his full potential yet.”
Fisher has run as fast as 4.36 in the 40-yard dash and turned in a 4.45 for Bengals defensive backs coach Ray Horton in a workout one week ago.
Horton left Morgantown that day telling Fisher that the Bengals would probably draft him if he was still there in the second round.
“One thing I said about Charles Fisher when we were going over the defensive backs in the draft meeting was, if we have Charles Fisher and Artrell Hawkins on the field at the same time, there won't be any more 60- or 70-yard runs because they can't get away from us. We've improved our team speed.”
Can Fisher step in as an immediate starter as Hawkins did last year?
“If we can get him in here, depending on when his school graduates, for all the minicamps, he will get a big jump,” Horton said. “He has the potential and the ability to play from Day One, but we'll let the kid decide that by how he practices.”
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