How travel and high school sweetheart brought former prep talent Fisher Ingersoll to BYU receiving corps

PROVO — When Fisher Ingersoll entered the transfer portal after playing his second year of college baseball at Nicholls State in Louisiana, he didn't know where he wanted to go.

But he knew what he didn't want to do.

"I wanted to be home," the former American Fork High multi-sport star told KSL. "I wasn't trying to live outside the state again. After four years, I was ready to be back in Utah; I missed the mountains, the people, and I was ready to be back."

Ingersoll had plenty of reasons to look for a homecoming. After the one-time BYU baseball commit signed with TCU for baseball, the former Gatorade Utah baseball player of the year and 6A state champion transferred to the Southland Conference where he hit .373 with 41 hits, 23 runs, 12 doubles, 23 RBI and four home runs in two seasons with the Colonels.

But with one season of eligibility remaining, he faced another life change: Ingersoll proposed to his longtime girlfriend Ellie Walbruch during winter break, and his new in-laws as well as his entire family still loved on the Wasatch Front, more than 1,600 miles away from Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Whether it was homesickness, a new chapter, or simply wanting a fresh start, he found everything he needed at BYU. But not to play baseball. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior quickly connected with BYU wide receivers coach Fesi Sitake, who recruited him in high school, when he caught 74 passes for 1,142 yards and 19 touchdowns in 12 games as a junior for the Cavemen.

The Cougars lost four of their top six pass catchers from a year ago, including senior wide out Chase Roberts who is currently in NFL training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders.

BYU coaches have made a habit of closing as few doors as possible in the era of the transfer portal. Ingersoll was no exception. So with one season of eligibility left — both for Ingersoll and Walbruch, who led the Cougars last year with 16 goals en route to the NCAA Tournament's round of 16 — the newlyweds opted to give it a shot.

"Once we found out in high school he was going to choose baseball, I honestly didn't think he'd find his way back to football," Sitake admitted. "But he did.

"Even though he's only got one year left, it makes sense with a wife who is an All-American soccer player. He was here, he had one more year left, so why not give football a run?"

Ingersoll faces an uphill battle for major playing time, in a group led by veteran receivers Kyler Kasper and Jojo Phillips and potential breakout freshmen Legend Glasker and Jaron Pula. But he joined the team during player-run practices in the summer, and quickly found chemistry — with the help of former American Fork classmate Trey Roberts and Reggie Frischknecht, the Manti High alum by way of Snow College.

Known for strong hands and a two-mentality in high school when he also moonlighted at defensive back, Ingersoll has caught the attention — and not just of Sitake. Special teams coordinator Justin Ena has already asked about him to fill a role, too.

"I think he's got a legitimate shot to work his way in, and to play on special teams," Sitake said. "It's hard for anyone with one year left to see the field at all at this level, but he's done a good job ... and I've always thought highly of him since high school.

"One thing you have to give him credit for is, he's a really good athlete," he added of Ingersoll. "There are movements you do in football that you don't even come close to in baseball. But for him to be able to come in here and just see him do some things so naturally — he ran a route the other day where he got jammed up, had to adjust mid-route, and it was all seamless. For him to do that coming from a sport he hasn't played in four to five years is really impressive."

Whether Ingersoll cracks the two-deep before BYU's season opener Sept. 5 against Utah Tech (6 p.m. MT, ESPN+) is yet to be determined. But he's more than happy to be a depth inclusion at wide receiver, something the former baseball standout sees as a stronger rotation than many give the Cougars credit.

"I think the depth is underrated," he said. "From what I've seen from camp so far are people rotating in and making plays, from the top down. That's a big thing for us."

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