Isaiah Foskey Chasing Notre Dame History
Notre Dame defensive end Isaiah Foskey returned for his senior year to improve his game, but also to chase Justin Tuck’s sack records.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder enters this weekend’s showdown with No. 4 Clemson with 7.5 sacks on the year, which puts him just 1.5 sacks behind Tuck’s Notre Dame career record of 24.5.
It’d be easy for Foskey to have focus and even excitement as he closes in on history, but the California native made it clear he isn’t distracted by the numbers.
“I really don't until I see people start tagging me in it,” Foskey stated. “And then I see it, but like I really don't pay much attention to it. I didn't even know how many sacks I had until people started tagging me and started telling me. I just go out there and play. I don't really look at stats, don't really care about stats. I just go out there and try to get the win.”
Foskey recorded three sacks in the win over UNLV and followed it up with 1.5 sacks on the road at Syracuse last weekend.
And yes, Foskey knew he could have a big day against Syracuse from his film study. The Orange had left running backs and tight ends one-on-one against other edge rushers earlier in the year, which Foskey was more than fine seeing.
“Yeah, I don't know,” laughed Foskey. “I really don't know. Going against Syracuse I was really excited about that. They were doing that I guess like against every team, even against Clemson. They even had Myles Murphy and KJ Henry against the tight ends, I was like alright. Like, those two defensive ends are pretty good too.”
There was plenty of hype surrounding what type of season Foskey could have when he announced his return and while it wasn’t necessarily a slow start, there is no mistaking he has elevated his game in recent weeks.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has seen an improved player from what he saw on film a year ago and that includes retraining his star defensive end in some area.s
"Better at the point of attack, for sure,” Golden explained. “I feel like he's got positive footwork at the point of attack. He's not displacing laterally. He's gaining ground, what we call getting your second foot in the ground, which is not easy when you're trying to change habits or break habits or create better habits. As you get older, sometimes you have to really retool it. He's done a great job of really trying to do that. So, I think that's one area that he's made a lot of strides."
Golden and defensive line coach Al Washington have also changed how Foskey aligns presnap in addition to moving him around the defense.
“He also played in a three-point stance a lot the other day,” stated Golden. “I don't know if you guys noticed that, but he ended up playing in three-point a lot. I'm glad because it really reinforces him coming out of his hips, getting his second foot in the ground and being positive."
Foskey admits putting his hand in the ground feels different as he hasn’t done that since high school, but he’s loving the results as he can come out lower and his first step has improved.
“It was switching up my feet from last year,” Foskey said. “Now I have my front foot up that's closest to the tackle. That's what Coach Washington really showed me and I just started working it and it started going well and I put my hand down a lot more, so that helped.”
Notre Dame’s defense will face a bigger quarterback who can run for the second week in a row as DJ Uiagalelei checks in at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds. Foskey knows it will be a challenge to contain Uiagalelei, but he also is pushing for more than just sacks heading into Saturday.
“He's a bigger quarterback, but getting to the quarterback you just have to bring them down and get to the ball,” stated Foskey. “That's the biggest thing I felt like I dropped off a little bit this year is just getting the ball out when I get to the quarterback.
“That's something that I pride myself on. I feel like once you get to the quarterback, you try to get the ball out. It doesn't matter if you get the quarterback down or not, but if you don't get the ball out, at least wrap them up and then get like half a sack when other teammates come in, so it helps a lot.”
To get a win against Clemson this weekend, the Irish will need to improve its red zone defense or at minimum, Notre Dame needs to hold the Tigers to field goals.
Notre Dame enters the weekend last in the country in red zone defense as teams have scored points on all 20 trips, which includes 17 touchdowns. It’s not all bad news as teams aren’t getting to the red zone often as the Irish check in at No. 14.
“That's a point of emphasis that we brought upon ourselves this week, just the red zone stops,” explained Foskey. “Basically not trying to let them get in the red zone. So I feel like every time we get like a point of emphasis, like urgency, trying to start off fast, we did that against UNLV, trying to start off fast. Our continuous urgency against Syracuse, I feel like that's what we did the whole entire game. I feel like every time we have a point of emphasis for the week, we pretty much get it done. So that was our point of emphasis this week the red zone stops.”
How does Notre Dame correct the red zone defense? It’s simple. Execute better on third and fourth down to get off the field.
“Sometimes on goal line we get them to third down or fourth down, but it's just that one play that gets them into the end zone,” said Foskey. “It's just unfortunate events, just that one play that we just need to stop and just be continuous on four plays straight. It's four-down territory down there.”
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