Notre Dame sacks leader Isaiah Foskey makes decision about his future

The good news keeps coming for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are getting their sacks leader back next season.

Defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey is returning to Notre Dame next year, he announced Saturday. He’ll join three other Fighting Irish players who also said they’re coming back next season.

LOVE THEE ☘️ pic.twitter.com/GguNUEfxb5

— Isaiah Fos🔑 (@IFoskey) January 8, 2022

“The Bible says…In Proverbs 18:16: ‘God’s gift will make room for you and bring you before great men!” Foskey wrote in a message on Twitter. “Let’s end this off right! FTB all the way! My time has not come just yet…. Notre Dame… I’m coming back! I’m here to stay!!!”

Foskey led Notre Dame with 10.0 sacks this season. He could’ve easily entered the NFL Draft and came in at No. 98 on Pro Football Focus’ Big Board on Dec. 27.

The twin duo of Jayson and Justin Ademilola were No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, also announced they’re coming back next year. That means the Fighting Irish will return their top three sacks leaders.

Moreover, Notre Dame got another massive victory on defense when it landed Northwestern transfer Brandon Joseph on Saturday. The Marcus Freeman era is off to quite a start in South Bend.

Notre Dame lands All-American safety transfer Brandon Joseph

Notre Dame is losing All-American safety Kyle Hamilton to the NFL, but they are replacing him with another defensive back of the same caliber.

On Saturday, the Irish landed former Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph. The Texas native has two full years of playing time under his belt, and he accumulated 79 tackles, four pass breakups, three interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery in 2021.

Joseph earned All-American status in 2020, notching six interceptions in just nine games, which led Power Five players. The 6-foot-1 safety also had 52 tackles and a couple of defended passes. In addition to All-American status, Joseph was named first-team all-Big Ten and Big Ten Newcomer of the Year.

“Notre Dame came after me pretty hard the first day I entered the transfer portal,” Joseph told Mike Singer of Blue and Gold. “I was on the phone with Coach [Marcus] Freeman right away. From then, I knew it was the right spot for me. He told me that there are 18 starters returning, and they were the No. 5 team in the county. For a team of that caliber, all you need to do is replace a few pieces. I feel like it’s a perfect spot for me to go in and be a piece of the puzzle. I want to take this team to a national championship.”