Fisher looked at Pruitt in high school

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher broke into a grin when asked about evaluating Jeremy Pruitt as a quarterback while recruiting for Samford some 25 years ago, ready to dish on the ironic history from yesteryear.

“As a quarterback, was too small, and I said back then he didn’t throw it good enough,” Fisher said. “Nah, Jeremy was an athletic kid that you knew was going to be a player, but he would probably have to be on the secondary side.”

Terry Bowden was the coach of Samford University at the time (1992) and he had Fisher — then his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — look to Plainview High School for Pruitt, who earned allstate honors his junior and senior seasons.

There wasn’t a scholarship offer from Bowden and Fisher at Samford, but there was a memory made.

“We knew he was a very good player,” Fisher said. “His dad was a high school coach, that whole deal, too, so you knew he would come ready.”

Pruitt instead chose to go to Middle Tennessee, staying two years at the Murfreesboro school before transferring to play for College Football Hall of Fame coach Gene Stallings at Alabama.

Fisher, meanwhile, followed Bowden to Auburn and the Tigers went 11-0 in 1993.

Fisher recruited Pruitt a second time, hiring him off Nick Saban’s Alabama staff in 2012 to become his defensive coordinator at Florida State.

Pruitt charged up the Seminoles’ defense, as Florida State went on to win the national championship with the country’s No. 3-ranked defense.