Isaiah Foskey doesn’t need the half sack on his career sack total of 26.5 to hold Notre Dame’s program record. The Irish defensive end surpassed former record holder Justin Tuck (2001-04) by two full sacks.
But the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Foskey won’t be adding to that sack total. He announced Thursday that he will enter the 2023 NFL Draft.
Foskey's announcement on social media didn't mention No. 21 Notre Dame’s Gator Bowl matchup with No. 19 South Carolina on Dec. 30, but a source confirmed with Inside ND Sports that Foskey will not play in the game.
SUBSCRIBE TO INSIDE ND SPORTS TO STAY IN THE KNOW ON NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON THE INSIDER LOUNGE MESSAGE BOARD
NFL Draft entrants have increasingly chosen to sit out their team's bowl games in recent years. Last season, Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton and running Kyren Williams chose to sit out the Fiesta Bowl. Junior tight end Michael Mayer announced Wednesday he will not play in the Gator Bowl and will enter April's draft.
If Foskey can match Tuck’s NFL accolades, which included two Super Bowl championships and two All-Pro selections, he will have put together quite the football career.
After an 11-sack season as a junior in 2021, Foskey chose to return to Notre Dame for one more season. He matched that sack total this season in one fewer game. Foskey’s Irish career comes to an end with 41 games played, 122 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, seven forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles and three blocked punts.
"He didn't come back just to break the record," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said after Foskey's record-setting sack against Boston College. "He came back to win a national championship, just like you said.
"And you know what, he didn't win a championship this year. But what he did for this program and what those seniors did for this program to me will be the reason why we do win a national championship in an upcoming future."
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. dropped Foskey out of his top 25 prospects for next year’s draft in his most recent rankings last month. He ranked Foskey as the No. 4 outside linebacker in the projected draft class. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler listed Foskey as the No. 47 overall prospect and No. 11 edge prospect in his midseason draft rankings early last month.
Foskey came to Notre Dame as a four-star recruit in the 2019 class out of Concord (Calif.) De La Salle. He enrolled at the high school with a powerhouse football program after being told at a young age that he had Division I talent.
Foskey made his first impactful play at Notre Dame in the 2019 regular season finale at Stanford when he blocked a punt. The Irish limited his playing time to four games that season in order to redshirt him as a freshman. Foskey became a rotational defensive player the following season with 4.5 sacks and 20 tackles.
Notre Dame’s top options to replace Foskey at vyper defensive end for the Gator Bowl are graduate senior Justin Ademilola and junior Jordan Botelho.
Ademilola (6-2, 253) still has a decision to make regarding whether he wants to return to Notre Dame for a sixth season next year. He totaled 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in 12 games this season while rotating with Foskey and playing ND’s other defensive end position.
Botelho (6-3, 250) tallied nine tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in limited action this season. He played mostly special teams before being given a larger defensive role in the final five games.
Freshmen Joshua Burnham (6-4, 233) and Junior Tuihalamaka (6-2, 240) are also expected to be options at vyper in the future.
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @ByKyleKelly.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
