BREAKING | All-American Safety Brandon Joseph Transferring to Notre Dame
Notre Dame has added a five-star prospect to the roster as consensus All-American safety Brandon Joseph will transfer to the Fighting Irish program after three seasons at Northwestern.
It was a quick decision and one that was easy in the end as Notre Dame offered everything Joseph was looking for.
"When I hit the Transfer Portal, I was looking for one of the best schools and best defenses in the country to join,” Joseph told ISD. “I think the missing pieces and the amount returners at Notre Dame, it's the perfect fit for me to come in and make an immediate impact and help take this team to the level it needs to be."
Marcus Freeman, Chris O’Leary and Chad Bowden played significant roles in Joseph’s recruitment from the first day he entered the Transfer Portal.
"It was huge,” Joseph said of the relationships he developed at Notre Dame. “Day one of me being in the Transfer Portal, I was on the phone with Coach Freeman and I knew Notre Dame was going to be one of my top options. For them to have interest and be so interested so early was huge. Since then, we've developed a relationship - me and Coach Freeman and Coach O'Leary. I'm excited to see where they can take me in my game and how much I can develop under them at Notre Dame."
It’s a big commitment for Notre Dame in many ways as Joseph not only improves the Irish secondary immediately, but off the field as well as it signals the football program and admissions worked together to get him into the university.
Undergrad transfers have been few and far between at Notre Dame and this is a positive sign as the Transfer Portal becomes more relevant in today's college football climate.
In fact, a former Northwestern graduate transfer played a big role for the Irish. Joseph was able to connect with Los Angeles Rams receiver Ben Skowronek, who joined the Irish program in 2020, and got some of his questions answered.
"Ben was one of the people I spoke to the most,” explained Joseph. “He was in the exact same situation as me looking to go somewhere to help him develop. To go from Northwestern to Notre Dame, he did exactly what I'm doing.
"I talked to him a lot about this decision. He thinks this is the best place to develop and become who I want to be. He's been a good resource for me."
Joseph, a native of College Station (Texas), also started to realize he's not too far from Northwestern during his visit and was impressed with Notre Dame's campus.
"I'm realizing I'm not too far from Chicago,” laughed Joseph. “Being a Texas guy, I'm still up in the cold, but I'm looking forward to it. I love the campus.
"I didn't realize the stadium was in the middle of campus. Everything is so close. The basketball arena, the facilities and the football stadium are all in the middle of campus. I'm excited to see the environment and Irish nation go crazy in this thing and for us to start getting dubs and turning this place up."
The 6-foot-1, 192-pounder was a former three-star prospect and led the Wildcats to the Big Ten championship game in 2020 in his first full year of starting. Joseph recorded 52 tackles as a redshirt freshman, but his six interceptions put him on the national radar and earned him All-Big Ten and Big 10 Freshman of the Year.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2021, Joseph had another stellar year with 79 tackles and three interceptions. Joseph entered the season as an AP First Team Preseason All-American and on every watch list possible. The Texas native earned second-team All-Big Ten in 2021.
Joseph’s first game will come against a familiar opponent in Ohio State. In the 2020 Big 10 Championship Game, Joseph recorded five tackles and one of the best interceptions you’ll ever see against the Buckeyes and he couldn't be more excited to get another shot at Ohio State.
"That's going to be huge," said Joseph. “That will be our whole mission as we approach this offseason. We realize we have such a great opponent in week one and the chance to show what type of team we are.
"It's going to be motivation and sitting in the back of our minds as we approach the offseason and it will make us that much better as we get into the next season."
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Career Stats
Tackles: 129
TFLs: 2.5
Sacks: 1.0
Interceptions: 9
Passes Defended: 6
Fumble Recoveries: 1