Saints march on with ND's sack leader Foskey in NFL Draft's second round
One of the motivations that Isaiah Foskey put aside in January of 2022 that had been nudging him to leave Notre Dame for the NFL Draft after three years was his mother, Roslyn.
Specifically, the Irish defensive end wanted to provide the financial cushion to allow her to join Foskey’s dad, Terry, in retirement.
Roslyn, who works in the medical field, wanted an ND degree for her son more. And Isaiah returned to the Irish for the 2022 season, bent on becoming more well-rounded on the football field beyond his reputation as a pass rusher.
And that version of him is what the New Orleans Saints are getting with the ninth pick of the second round and the 40th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. That is a player with positional and schematic flexibility, with coverage skills and run-stopping capabilities to go along with his ND career sack record.
"The ceiling's a lot higher for this player than even what we've seen on tape," Saints head coach Dennis Allen said. "So, we're excited about that."
Foskey was selected just five picks after the Las Vegas Raiders took Irish teammate, tight end Michael Mayer. At pick 40, he becomes the earliest Irish defensive taken in a draft since Renaldo Wynn went 21st overall in the first round of the 1997 draft to Jacksonville.
"I have not been to New Orleans," Foskey told the media on Friday night via Zoom. "I’m happy to go there now. I just know gumbo, crawfish. I know I’m going to be eating good for sure."
Oh, and learning from one of the best in new teammate Cam Jordan, an eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end and the franchise's all-time sack leader with 115.5.
"I’m not Cam Jordan, but I can learn through him and see what he can do," Foskey said. "He can teach me moves. I know my go-to move might be different in the NFL, so I pretty much want to learn from him."
Former Irish cornerback Troy Pride Jr. is the only other Notre Dame player on the Saints roster. Allen was the Saints' defensive coordinator for seven seasons before taking over as head coach last season.
"I feel like that just embodies the whole defensive culture, the whole team culture," Foskey said. "You rely more on the defense when it’s a defensive-oriented head coach. I feel like that’s just a great plus for us. Rely on the D-line. It starts with us."
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Foskey amassed 11 of his career 26.5 sacks in 12 games last season for the Irish in knocking Justin Tuck from the top of the career sack record heap after 19 seasons. He had 45 tackles overall, including 14 for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and, on special teams, two blocked punts.
Foskey earned consensus All-America honors for the Irish (9-4) under a first-time head coach (Marcus Freeman) and a new position coach (Al Washington) and defensive coordinator (Al Golden). He opted out of his final game, ND’s 45-38 Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina on Dec. 30.
Foskey had envisioned Friday night’s moment — being drafted in the NFL — for almost a decade. In fact, at the end of his eighth grade year at Holy Rosary Catholic School in Antioch, Calif., he announced in a video presentation at the class graduation ceremony that he wanted to play in the NFL.
When Notre Dame offered Foskey a scholarship on May 24, 2017, he was 6-3, 190. And a four-star tight end prospect. And that initially was the Irish recruiting pitch to the burgeoning Concord (Calif.) De La Salle High prospect.
By the time he came for an unofficial visit a couple of months later, the Irish coaches pitched the idea to him that he could play for them on either side of the ball. Eventually, Foskey became more highly recruited on defense and eventually signed with the Irish as part of the 2019 class.
In intentionally creating a redshirt year, the ND coaching staff limited Foskey to four games as a freshman. His first sack wouldn’t come until his sophomore year, but his first major impact didn’t wait that long.
In the 2019 regular-season finale, he blocked a Stanford punt late in the first half and with the Irish trailing on the road, 17-7. It touched off a run of 31 unanswered Notre Dame points in an eventual 45-24 triumph.
Foskey was a rotational player in 2020, getting his first 4 ½ sacks before breaking through his junior year with 11 as a first-time starter.
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