Perception is a funny thing. When you picture offensive linemen, you immediately conjure up an image of big, nasty dudes with violence in their hands and hate in their hearts. Yet, with everything he does away from the football field, ULM Warhawk Elijah Fisher challenges that notion as he enters the 2025 college football season as an AFCA Allstate Good Works Team nominee.
Elijah Fisher Earns Allstate Good Works Team Nomination Ahead of the 2025 College Football Season
“I’m just a big softy,” Fisher tells PFSN during an exclusive interview in the wake of national recognition. “I like laughing. I like having fun. I’m not a very serious person. I think that’s my biggest asset to ULM as a whole is that I try to keep everything high spirits. Obviously, there’s time and place for everything, but I think if we can be happy and laughing, why wouldn’t we?”
Fisher’s sunny demeanor is about as far removed from your perception of what an offensive lineman is, or should be. At 6’4″, 310 pounds, he’s an imposing character who physically fills a Google Meet video window with his sheer size. Despite this, it’s his presence that fills the space, a jovial, charismatic, communicative force who creates a natural, positive experience.
There is a phrase that dictates that you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their animals.
Within seconds of his time with PFSN, Phoebe — Fisher’s dog — has become the star of the show. Spend more than a handful of seconds in the virtual vicinity of that level of affection, mutual respect, and love, and it’s not hard to understand why the ULM standout has earned recognition for his community work as the Warhawks’ nomination for the Allstate Good Works Team.
The award shines a spotlight on student athletes and the work they do away from the college football field, whether in the community, in education, or simply by demonstrating leadership. In Fisher’s case, there are a litany of examples that tick all those boxes, but the individual instances are all backed by the same thought process.
“I feel like it’s not something I have to; it’s something I get to do,” Fisher explains his drive to inject his personality into community giving. “I’ve been at ULM many years, and football teams are very good nowadays about reaching out to elementary schools, middle schools, high schools to get in and talk to them. That’s a lot of the stuff I’ve done over my time here.”
“It’s just a blessing,” Fisher continues. “I feel like it speaks more to my character than anything. It’s just who I am.”
A lot of the work that Fisher does in the community is focused on helping kids. That’s not just in Monroe; it dates back to his time at Allen High School in Texas and Ouachita Parish, where he reads books to elementary school children. His efforts with the Boys and Girls Club of North Louisiana also help him connect to the local area youth, shining a light for those less fortunate.
“You don’t appreciate what you have until you see what other people have,” Fisher tells PFSN. “I think, realizing the hardships that are around areas like Monroe, and how the Boys and Girls Clubs basically extend an olive branch. It’s a middle ground to help kids be active, keep them in safe spaces, and they’re not just out doing whatever they want.”
“They’re learning, being active, and stuff like that,” Fisher continues. “I’ve got to work with them. We did one of their football camps recently. That was awesome. There were so many kids there. I get great pleasure in doing it, and I feel very appreciative to get to do it. I’m just very thankful and glad I can help. I’m glad I can bring a smile wherever I can.”
While Fisher is challenging perceptions of offensive linemen as the violent, nasty, brawn of a football team, his off-the-field pursuit of being a brightening light has led him to cross the barricades of perceived physical limitations.
As a society, we can be quick to judge. There’s an element of fear — even in a modern world where access to information should break down historical ignorances — of things and people that are different from our lived experiences. That can lead to alienation of others based on any number of reasons. At its heart is a lack of communication, or a lack of willingness to.
Fisher is a self-confessed talker. “My girlfriend calls it ‘word vomit.’ I’m a talker. I love talking to people, getting to know people.” Communication is at the heart of everything he does; it’s an essential part of his ability to be a leader at ULM, in the community, even in an interview setting. It also isn’t restricted to pure verbal conversation, having learned sign language early.
ULM lists Elijah Fisher (@elijahfisher95) at 6’4”, 310 pounds, and as an offensive lineman, he deals in violence every single down.
This story of how sign language helped connect him to someone else is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been told. pic.twitter.com/E7QEGOO6q7
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@hodgkinsonsport) July 19, 2025
“My grandparents, my dad’s mom and dad, basically ran a foster home when he was little. They had a deaf kid come. So, they all learned sign language, and not only do I know it, my dad knows it, my aunt knows it, my grandma and grandpa know it. It’s kind of a family thing. I would say I’m definitely the worst at it,” he laughs as he explains the origins of his sign language journey.
“When I got into high school, there was an option to take Spanish, French, or sign language,” the ULM offensive lineman continues.
“It was no question. I got real close with a girl. She was disabled and could only communicate through sign language. I just remember, if I was never in that class, I would have never met her. I would have never realized how funny she was. We watch the same TV shows, we love the same food. It connects people beyond just who you are as a body. It’s who you are as a soul.”
Family Impact Both On and Off the Field
“I would say it’s mostly my dad.”
While we ultimately choose who we are, what we’re going to be, and how we’re going to influence other people along our journey, every story has a start. Every person has an influence on them. Every direction taken has a guiding hand. As Fisher travels his path and exerts his infectious personality and leadership on his community and teammates, family is the foundation.
Born in Hawaii to Michelle and Matt Fisher, his father was an army man whose core values of family, community, and respect were passed down to the next generation. Whether in Oahu, Rockhill, SC, or Allen, TX, the message was consistent.
“We were raised to not only look out for how we’re acting and how our actions are representing our family, ourselves, and our community. It’s also how we can help other people. It’s not always about you. That’s something I remember my dad saying to me time and time again growing up. It’s not always about you.”
“I thoroughly believe if you can impact the community as much as you do with your workout and lifting weights and running and football, that I think you’re doing yourself a disservice for not doing it. So, you have these opportunities, and why would you not make the most of it? Especially when you get to go to these schools and see the looks, the smiles. It’s a great feeling.”
The experiences provided by the family moving through multiple communities also helped shape Fisher into the man he’s become today. While he doesn’t remember living in Hawaii, you feel the spirit and generosity of the islands about him. The importance of family, of being active, was instilled in him while in Rockhill, while Texas opened his eyes to the opportunities available to him.
Then, there was Julius Peppers.
“Wow,” Fisher’s eyes illuminate when I ask him about his sporting hero. “It all started with my dad. He had a signed helmet from Julius Peppers that I looked at from the time I was a kid up until I was 14, when I really got into football. Just looking at that signature and realizing that an NFL player touched that helmet, signed it, and now it’s in our family forever.”
“It has such an impact on me that I fell in love with football, fell in love with Julius Peppers, and the Carolina Panthers.” Fisher throws a “sadly” on the end as a reflection of the heartache that comes from following the franchise, especially in recent seasons. “I think it really narrowed my focus into realizing that I could really do something with football if I wanted to.”
Challenging the Perception of ULM Football
As a leader on the ULM football team, Fisher is helping to challenge perceptions around the program. He’s experienced tough times with the Warhawks, including a 0-10 campaign as a true freshman and a 2-10 season with a winless Sun Belt record in 2023. His father says these times reduced him to “normal people level” after the blessings of a lifetime of winning.
The result was a perception of ULM football as the whipping boy of college football. Yet, the 2024 season saw the Warhawks start the year 5-1 (with their only loss to the Texas Longhorns). There is an air of change around the football program, and for Fisher, it starts with the leadership at the very top.
“I’ve seen different leaders,” he explains the importance of leadership to the program. “John Hartwell [ULM Athletic Director], I think, was probably the best thing that could have happened to ULM when he got hired. Then, in turn, is him hiring coach [Bryant] Vincent. I think those two have really solidified what it means to be a leader, especially at ULM.”
“I think that trickles down, obviously to coaches, to players, and then to the rest of the team,” Fisher continues, reflecting on his leadership. “My thing is, I think someone is a great leader when you can make other people leaders, too. I want to empower other people into doing it. So that way, everybody’s a leader.”
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2024 ended with a six-game skid that took a little of the shine off the early-season accomplishments. Yet, the work put into changing the leadership, the culture, and expectations around the program gives Fisher cause for cautious excitement as the 2025 college football campaign gets ever closer.
“I toughed out those hard years, and I’m just so thankful that I stayed here. I prayed and prayed that something would turn around here. Last year, we created our expectations. We created what our identity was and what we stand for, stuff like that.”
“I think that’s what is going to be different this year,” Fisher continues. “We got something to prove, but the sky’s the limit for us, and I think we can go as far as we want to go. I thoroughly enjoy going to workouts every day and seeing my friends and having those laughs in the locker room. I think that’s the main point of everything.”
“The icing on the cake is that we get to play football. I think, for 2025. People need to be watching, really watching.”
