Where Isaiah Foskey ranks among all-time Notre Dame sacks per game leaders
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Notre Dame junior tight end Michael Mayer isn’t the only one rewriting the Fighting Irish football record book. Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey is etching his name in the defensive pages of it too.
Foskey recorded 3.0 sacks in a single game for the first time in his career in the Irish’s 44-21 win over UNLV on Oct. 22. He hadn’t recorded a full sack since Sept. 17 against California, but he broke out in a big way against the Rebels. And now he’s back on pace to break Notre Dame’s all-time career sacks record (24.5) currently held by Justin Tuck (2002-04).
Through Notre Dame’s first seven games of 2022, Foskey has 21.5 career sacks. That tied him with Stephon Tuitt (2011-13) and Victor Abiamiri (2003-06) for third most in Notre Dame history. Only Tuck and Kory Minor (22.5 from 1995-98) have more.
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Last year, the mission was to set the single-season sack record. Foskey came close. Tuck had 13.5 sacks in 2003. Foskey had 11.0 in 2021. Through seven games in 2022, Foskey has 6.0. Another 3.0-sack game would get Foskey within reach of the milestone. Even if he does not achieve it, Foskey passed elite company on his way up the all-time list.
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Through the first seven games of 2022, Foskey went ahead of Anthony Weaver (17.0 from 1998-01), Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bryant Young (18.0 from 1990-93), Ryan Roberts (19.0 from 1999-02), Renaldo Wynn (19.5 from 1993-96), Prince Shembo (19.5 from 2010-13) and Mike Gann (21.0 from 1981-84) on Notre Dame’s all-time career sack list.
Sure, coming back for a senior season made it all possible. But it’s not like Foskey’s ascent is the result of pure volume. Through Week 8 of this season, Foskey ranked fourth all-time in sacks per game (.60) over the course of an entire Notre Dame career. He might not leave Notre Dame as the greatest defensive lineman in Irish history, but he’s already done enough to be mentioned at some point in that conversation.
All-time Notre Dame sacks per game leaders
| Player | Games | Sacks | Sacks Per Game |
| 1. Justin Tuck | 36 | 24.5 | .68 |
| 2. Kory Minor | 34 | 22.5 | .66 |
| 3. Stephon Tuitt | 35 | 21.5 | .61 |
| 4. Isaiah Foskey | 36 | 21.5 | .60 |
| 5. Mike Gann | 41 | 21.0 | .51 |
