INDIANAPOLIS — There are certain moments in a person's life that become a touchstone, hinges on which so much of what comes later will swing.

When Brandon Cisse looks at his life and career, he can identify three.

The first was on November 7, 2020. The South Carolina Gamecocks were hosting Texas A&M. Cisse and his dad bought tickets for the game, and the then-high school sophomore watched in awe and appreciation as Jaycee Horn played his last college game in Columbia.

"I was sitting in the nosebleeds with my dad, and I was watching him out on the field," recalled Cisse this week, sharing the different inspirations that helped drive him to the NFL combine. "I got to see him live for the first time, and that's someone I look up to, and hopefully one day I can be better than him."

Horn went on after that season to be the No. 8 overall pick for the Panthers. And Brandon Cisse gained a teacher and support in the NFL. After two years at NC State, Cisse spent his final collegiate season with his home state Gamecocks. Following the 2025 season opener against Virginia Tech, in which Cisse had four tackles and two big pass break-ups, he opened up his phone and saw a tweet that immediately became a treasure.

"I remember after the Virginia Tech game, he tweeted at me, and it made my day," Cisse smiled. "He just said '15 keep going' and just a lockdown emoji. So I still got it.

"I mean, you just turn on this tape, and you watch it, but he's also a better person. I can reach out to him, and he can get back to me very fast."

The second moment that sparked Cisse's football career happened the summer before his senior year of high school. The Sumter, South Carolina native recognized that he had fallen in love with the game of football and had enough innate skills to make a run for a college offer.

"I love the game. (I want) to be the best player to ever play the game, and I don't just say that. I'm not just saying that to be confident. I actually mean that," perched Cisse. "Why else do you play the game if you don't want to be the best? So that's how I look at it."

But he needed help. Or more specifically, he needed $100.

At the time, the Lakewood High product had no college offers and only one year left of high school to earn one. NC State was hosting a football camp, which can often lead to interest in a prospect, but the defensive back would need $100 to sign up. His mom pointed out that it was no small fee and wanted at least a little assurance that it'd be worth the money.

"I begged her," admitted Cisse, recalling the story at his NFL combine press conference. "I just told her I wasn't going to make her wrong. And then, when I went out there and earned the offer (from NC State), I called her, and she was super happy for me, and I probably committed the next week to go to college.

"My mom never doubted me," he continued, bragging on his mom—and RN—and how she supported him this whole time. "She's always been in my corner, so she's been a great influence on me. She works very hard. So for her to give me that money. I was like, 'Hey Mom, I'm not going to prove you wrong.' Because she goes out there and she worked very hard for me the day, the day I came out here, for all my brothers and all my siblings, so she did a great job."

Sometimes just having someone in your corner makes all the difference in the world. Cisse did prove his mom right, spending two years with the Wolfpack. His 2024 campaign picked up 28 tackles and five passes defensed. He followed it up with the aforementioned year at South Carolina, tallying 27 tackles, five passes defensed, a forced fumble, and an interception.

"I mean, every day is a competition," said Cisse. "Even when I become the seven, hopefully eight-year veteran, it's not going to change. Every year I got to go out and earn my job, and I'm going to bring it every day and compete."

But on those days when life begets doubt and doubt outweighs dreams, you need to have those tethers that pull you back. And that's how Brandon Cisse found his third touchstone. When he needs that jolt of motivation, the South Carolina kid gets in his car, points it north, and drives a little over an hour until he hits the edge of Uptown Charlotte.

"Sometimes, for motivation, I just go drive up around the stadium just to look at it. So that's just kind of the person I am," shared Cisse, recalling the times his parents took him to Panthers games or Fan Fest when he was younger, and how the stadium remains his anchor to this day.

"Just sometimes, like, if I'm bored and I'm just like, 'Hey, I just need some motivation. I want to keep looking at things.' Sometimes I just go around it. It just excites me seeing the city, and seeing the stadium just makes it more intense. Like, I want to be in those shoes."

Where Brandon Cisse will get drafted this coming April remains to be seen. Regardless the team though, there will always be those motivators that paved the way: a corner who served as an inspiration, a mother who believed, and a stadium that became a guiding light.