DE Isaiah Foskey nixes NFL to return for senior season at Notre Dame

Defensive end Isaiah Foskey ended his junior season at Notre Dame without breaking any of the program’s sacks records

But with Foskey declaring Saturday on social media that he will return for his senior season with the Irish, he could track down a record or two after all.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Foskey finished the 2021 season with 11 sacks, which put him behind only Stephon Tuitt (12 in 2012) and Justin Tuck (13.5 in 2003) for the most sacks in a season by a Notre Dame player. Only four Notre Dame games this past season didn’t include a Foskey sack: Wisconsin, Navy, Virginia and Stanford.

Foskey upped his career sack total to 15.5, which is 1.5 short of breaking into the top 10 in program history. Foskey needs 9.5 more sacks to break Tuck’s career record of 24.5.

The records should have little to do with Foskey’s decision to return. But if Foskey does have another great season at Notre Dame, he could put himself in position to be a first-round NFL Draft pick in 2023. With 2021 being Foskey’s first season as a full-time starter, his résumé likely wasn’t long enough to lift him that high in the 2022 draft.

Defensive line coach Mike Elston could have lost all four of his 2021 starters to the NFL, but the decisions to return made by Foskey and senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola should give the Irish another season with the defensive line being a team strength. The 2021 team tied the single-season program record for sacks with 41.

Second-leading sack contributor Justin Ademilola, a senior defensive end who tallied five sacks in 2021, also announced earlier this week that he would be returning next season.

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