Clear Spring grad Joey Fisher signs with 49ers after NFL Draft

Shepherd University offensive lineman Joey Fisher, a Clear Spring High School graduate, signed an undrafted rookie free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday evening, less than an hour after being passed over in the 2023 NFL Draft.

It was widely anticipated that this year's draft would be the first time since 1979 that a Shepherd player would be selected — and possibly more than one.

But come Saturday evening, when all seven rounds had been completed, all of the draft-eligible Rams — including a quartet of Division II All-Americans in Fisher, Harlon Hill Award-winning quarterback Tyson Bagent, running back Ronnie Brown and tight end Brian Walker — surprisingly remained without an NFL team.

Pro Day: Fisher, Bagent draw NFL scouts from 31 teams to Shepherd

Undrafted players had the ability to negotiate undrafted rookie free agent deals with any NFL team following the draft.

Also within the first hour following the draft, Bagent signed with the Chicago Bears, Brown signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Walker signed with the Baltimore Ravens. The signings were announced by multiple sources.

Fisher, graduated from Clear Spring in 2016 following a senior football season in which he earned all-state small school first-team honors as a defensive lineman in 2015. That season, he made 58 tackles (11 for losses) and had 6.5 sacks.

He joined Shepherd in 2019. As a junior in 2021, he anchored an offensive line that helped the Rams reach the Division II semifinals and rank first in total first downs (369), second in third-down conversion percentage (.550), fourth in passing offense (337.3 yards) and fourth in scoring offense (43.7 points). He was selected as a Division II second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches' Association.

As a senior last fall, Fisher keyed an offensive line the helped Shepherd rank second in total offense (489.3 yards), second in total first downs (354) and seventh in passing offense (312.5 yards).

Fisher finished fourth in the Gene Upshaw Award voting, given to the nation's top Division II lineman (offensive and defensive). He was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, and made the D2Football.com Elite 100.

Shepherd held a pro day on March 28, during which Fisher, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighed 322 pounds, completed 40 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, with representatives from 31 of the NFL’s 32 teams in attendance. At the NFL Combine, held Feb. 28 through March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, only six players across all positions did more than 30 reps of 225, led by Southern Cal offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees with 38.

Fisher also showed off his speed, running the 40-yard dash in 4.90 seconds with a 10-yard split of 1.67. Among the offensive linemen at the NFL Combine, Georgia’s Broderick Jones had the top time in the 40 at 4.97 seconds, while Brigham Young’s Blake Freeland led the 10-yard split at 1.68.

Bagent, a Martinsburg High School graduate, set numerous passing records as a star quarterback at Shepherd. He quarterbacked the Rams to the Division II national semifinals in each of the past two seasons, and was the 2021 Harlon Hill Award winner as the nation's best Division II player in his junior season. He placed third in the voting last year after he completed 400 of 572 passes for 4,580 yards and 41 touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards and five scores.

He graduated from Martinsburg in 2018, where he threw for 7,800 yards and 112 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to a pair of West Virginia Class AAA state titles.

At Shepherd, Bagent set Division II career marks for most passing yards (17,034), most pass completions (1,400) and most touchdown passes. His 159 career touchdown throws set an NCAA all-division mark.

In the Senior Bowl, Bagent completed 17 of 22 passes for 124 yards for the American team in a 27-10 loss to the National team.

Brown, a 2019 Dundalk High School graduate, rushed for 1,864 yards and 19 touchdowns on 219 carries, and caught 56 passes for 589 yards and five more TDs for the Rams in 2022.

He led Division II in yards per carry (8.47), ranked second in total rushing yards and all-purpose yards per game (199.93), ranked fifth in total points scored (150) and total TDs (25), and ranked sixth in rushing TDs.

Brown made the Associated Press All-American first team, and was named to the second team by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and the D2Football.com Elite 100.

Walker had 63 receptions for 799 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. He garnered Division II All-American first-team honors from the Associated Press, D2CCA and Don Hansen, and was on the D2Football.com second team.

The last Shepherd football player to be drafted was running back Wayne Wilson, selected by the Houston Oilers in the 12th round (324th overall) in 1979.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Clear Spring grad Joey Fisher signs with 49ers after NFL Draft