ISU head coach Dan McCarney preaches family, and with his 2005 signing class, he brought in three players who are pretty familiar with one another.

The most notable are twins Paul and Scott Fisher. The offensive linemen both stand 6-foot-7 and weigh an average of 327 pounds apiece.

The Fishers originally signed a letter of intent to play at Utah, but while on a Mormon mission to Chile, the Utah coaching staff was rearranged, leading the twins to sign with Brigham Young. Paul played offensive tackle in all 12 games while Scott redshirted. From Brigham Young, they headed to Dixie State and both earned first-team all-Western States Football League honors.

The twins are both 23 years old and both married. McCarney said they have a maturity that sometimes players out of high school don’t have, which meant they had to be recruited differently.

“Both of them have been through the recruiting process before this,” McCarney said. “[We knew] they’re not going to be blown away by some speech [I’ll] make in the home because they’ve heard a lot of coaches come in before.”

Although the two have played together their whole lives, Scott said it didn’t necessarily mean the duo would stay together.

“We both talked about it; [it’s] nice to play with family on the team,” Scott said. “It’s easier on our family. They don’t have to watch two different teams.”

Joining the Fisher twins will be former Dixie State teammate Walter Nickel, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound tight end. Nickel said that Dixie State was in the chase for a national championship at the time and the trio wanted to concentrate on winning, not where it was going to be playing next year.

Nickel, who graduated from high school in 2003, said he is anxious to play with players who are the same age as him.

“These guys who are starting were in my same recruiting class, so it’s almost like I’m coming in with them,” Nickel said.

After graduating from high school in Tacoma, Wash., Nickel went directly to Dixie State, but he said he didn’t have enough speed to be a wide receiver.

With the addition of four junior college players, three of them having experience playing together, the 2004 Independence Bowl champs can fill some holes in a hurry.

“I think all three of those kids coming from the same junior college can help our team in 2005,” McCarney said.