We’ve got to make sure we put him in the right position to be as productive as he can be.” He’s eager to take the next step.” - Defensive line coach Al Washington With Isaiah, he’s at a point in his career where he’s had a lot of experience and he’s enthused about what he’s doing. “Passion is enhanced when you feel you’re in the right place at the right time. With 15½ career sacks, Foskey is 9½ sacks away from eclipsing Tuck’s mark. That means Aiden Gobaira, Joshua Burnham and (hopefully) Keon Keeley will be up next.įoskey’s 11 sacks in 2021 were the third-most in Notre Dame single-season history behind Justin Tuck (13½ in 2003) and Stephon Tuitt (12 in 2012). Notre Dame will need the next generation of pass rusher to emerge post-2022 with Foskey and fellow Vyper end Justin Ademilola departing the program. He’s probably more likely to surpass the 12½ tackles for loss as he’s put a greater emphasis on defending the run.įoskey’s final season in a Notre Dame uniform could very well lead to a first-round draft choice. It’s pretty easy to imagine Foskey equaling or surpassing his 12½ tackles for loss and 11 sacks of 2021. Surrounded by a group of veterans, coached by defensive line coach Al Washington and headed up by veteran defensive coordinator Al Golden, Foskey is primed for a huge senior season as he tag-teams the Vyper position with Justin Ademilola. He had just one-and-a-half tackles for loss outside of his sacks last fall.” The key for Foskey’s final season in South Bend is to become a game-wrecker versus the run as well. The forced fumbles and turnovers created by his length will be as well. O’Malley Says: “The sacks will be there – likely a program-record total. I believe we’re going to be a dominant defense. “We have so many people returning from the d-line and the defense in general. “Our d-line is going to be nasty,” said Foskey, who is within striking distance of the all-time Notre Dame sack record (see Stat of the Day below). I feel the same way.”Ī slam dunk to be named one of multiple captains for the ’22 season, Foskey appears primed for another stellar season, particularly since he’s surrounded by a veteran crew. They were saying they want to see more consistency in everything. “They said they wanted to see more consistency play-to-play, game-to-game. “Most likely through all of my testing, I could be a mid-to-lower second rounder. “They said I was a 2 nd-to-3 rd round pick,” said Foskey in the spring pre-draft. Faced with placing his name in the NFL draft or returning for his fourth year at Notre Dame to earn his degree and lift his draft projection, Foskey chose to return under new head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive coordinator Al Golden. Part 2 of Foskey’s closing act at Notre Dame required a decision. I’m going to try to get another run at that.” I wasn’t really chasing it, but I was close to it so I wanted to get it.
“I left so many plays on the field,” said Foskey of his ’21 season. Perhaps Foskey’s most impressive stat from ’21 was his six fumbles forced, which tied two other players for the most in the FBS. That was two-and-a-half sacks behind Notre Dame single-season leader Justin Tuck. He registered sacks in eight of 12 games – including two each against Florida State and USC – to finish with 11. Part 1 came last season when Foskey finished fourth on the Irish defense in tackles with 52 (eight vs. It set the stage for a two-part act to conclude his time at Notre Dame. He added another blocked punt to his ledger at Pittsburgh, which he recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Foskey was next with four-and-a-half sacks and five quarterback hurries (two behind Ogundeji) in his first season of full-time duty. He left an indelible mark on the 2019 season when his late-first half blocked punt at Stanford in the final game of the regular season sparked a comeback that overtook the Cardinal and propelled the Irish to the third of what would be five straight seasons of double-digit victories.įoskey was unleashed on the defensive side of the football as a red-shirt freshman in 2020 with senior Ade Ogundeji pacing the defense in sacks (7). He very nearly wasn’t around in 2022.įoskey, the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder out of De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., broke in with the Irish most notably as a punt blocker. He isn’t going to be around for a fifth year in 2023. And yet as it turned out, freshman defensive end Isaiah Foskey could have played in as many games as they wanted him to in 2019 as a true freshman without concern of burning a year of eligibility. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea resisted the temptation.
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