All year long, the Hoosiers have depended on the big play from Little Ray

Ray Fisher seems very unimposing in person.\nAt 5-foot-9, the sophomore wide receiver stands several inches shorter than the average cornerback. But what separates Fisher from other receivers his size is his ability to make other people flat out miss tackles in the field. \n“I just go with the flow,” Fisher said. “Whatever comes to my head, I just do. It’s just an instinct.” \nThrough the first 10 games of the season, Fisher is the team’s second-leading receiver. Catching 40 balls for 394 yards and four touchdowns, he has nearly doubled his production from last year. \nFinding a way to impact the team has not been a problem for Fisher. On a team that already has a strong receiving corps, Fisher has become a threat at the slot position, which makes it hard for defenses to match up against him while creating favorable match-ups for junior wide receiver James Hardy on the outside.\nWhen he gets the ball, Fisher uses his height – or lack there of – to his advantage. Fisher’s stature allows him to have a low center of gravity, therefore making it easier to slide between tackles and avoid being brought down.\n“He has the ability to make plays,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “He’s a good receiver, but he’s got great speed, quickness, and he’s got a little bit of toughness in him.”\nWhen he was recruiting Fisher, Lynch began calling him “Big Play Ray.” The nickname has come to accurately depict a substantial amount of the plays Fisher has made this year.\nOne of the Hoosiers’ more common play calls this season has been a screen pass to Fisher, which he says is his favorite route. Catching it in the flat, Fisher uses his speed to turn upfield and make plays.\nLast week, he transformed an ordinary screen pass into a 60-yard touchdown. The play hasn’t always worked out though. Against Akron on Sept. 15, Fisher tried to avoid the defensive pursuit, resulting in a 17-yard loss.\n“I thought I could make a big play,” Fisher said. “But instead, I made a big loss. My life is on the edge on the football field. Whatever comes to my head I just do, and I don’t second guess it anytime.”\nWith blocking being an important part of the screen pass, senior offensive lineman Charlie Emerson noted that, with Fisher, the concept of blocking differs a bit.\n“Obviously, you block until the whistle,” Emerson said. “But Ray has shown this year that he can make some spectacular plays on his own without any blockers around him. Having him back adds an extra element to our offense.”\nTwo weeks ago, Fisher missed the Hoosiers’ trip to Madison, Wisc., because of an injured foot. Disappointed, he had to sit and watch the Hoosiers lose 33-3, Fisher worked hard to rehabilitate his foot and now says it’s at 100 percent.\nTwo weeks removed from the injury, Fisher and the Hoosiers will travel to Evanston, Ill., to play a team that uses the same type of offense IU does. Because the Wildcats are used to running the spread offense, Fisher expects Northwestern to be ready for him.\nStill, a healthy “Big Play Ray” has the confidence in his coaching staff to make something happen. As Lynch joked last Saturday, “You don’t know where he’s going to go.”\nWho knows? Maybe Northwestern feels the same way.