Notre Dame football: New faces having huge impact in 2020

Notre Dame football: New faces having a huge impact in 2020

Isaiah Foskey, Defensive End

Isaiah Foskey entered 2020 as a redshirt-freshman after seeing very limited action last year. His biggest play came against Stanford when he blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown. In the early part of the season, it looked like Foskey was going to have a breakout year after recording a sack in the first two games and causing a lot of disruption in the backfield.

Whether it was the defensive end depth or other reasons that led to Foskey’s drop in production, the bottom line is he has still been a key depth piece on Notre Dame’s loaded defensive line.

He is currently second on the team in sacks with 4.5 and has recorded 16 tackles and a pass deflection. Foskey also has two huge special teams contributions, shutting down a South Florida fake punt attempt early in the season and blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone vs Pittsburgh.

Last week’s game vs North Carolina was encouraging, as he recorded four tackles and a sack and looked exceptional in the run game.

There’s no doubt that Foskey’s limited reps are a product of two stellar defensive ends being in front of him, but the fact that he is still making an impact is a great sign and especially encouraging for this season in terms of having quality depth.