Transferring Western Michigan D-lineman Fiske set to visit Notre Dame
Coming out of Michigan City (Ind.) High School as a two-star prospect and just 40 minutes from the University of Notre Dame campus, Braden Fiske must have felt a scholarship offer from Notre Dame seemed light-years away.
Four years later, fate has twisted in his favor.
On Friday, the 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive lineman from Western Michigan will take a recruiting visit to ND as a potential grad transfer, Fiske told Inside ND Sports. If all goes well on the visit, he could leave with a Notre Dame offer to put on the growing pile he’s amassed since entering the transfer portal earlier this week.
Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers and West Virginia are among the Power 5 offers Fiske has received this week. Coming out of high school as 6-3, 240-pound defensive end, Fiske’s offer list comprised four schools — Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Indiana and Illinois State.
Fiske spent five seasons at Western Michigan, three of them as a starter. The Broncos fired head coach Tim Lester on Monday after six seasons. The Broncos finished 5-7 overall in 2022 and 4-4 in Mid-American Conference play.
Fiske amassed 58 tackles, including 12 tackles for losses of 57 yards with six sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Fiske, who plays primarily inside with some edge versatility, got his degree in Sports Management last spring and will have one year of eligibility at his new school.
Rivals ranks Fiske as the No. 34 transfer prospect overall and No. 4 defensive lineman in its new transfer portal rankings, right behind ND outgoing transfer D-lineman Jacob Lacey, bound for Oklahoma.
Grad transfers and players who were in programs with head coaching changes were able to jump into the portal before the early window opens Monday.
In addition to Lacey transferring, the Irish will also lose interior linemen Chris Smith and Jayson Ademilola to expired eligibility after the bowl game. Vyper end Isaiah Foskey is expected to enter the NFL Draft, while fellow end Justin Ademilola remains on the fence regarding a return to ND in 2023.
Fiske's career statistics
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