Notre Dame Football: What Brandon Joseph would mean for the Irish

With Notre Dame football growing increasingly thin in their secondary, what would landing Northwestern transfer Brandon Joseph do for the Fighting Irish?

In essentially two seasons of work with the Northwestern Wildcats, thanks to the COVD-19 shortened 2020 season, Brandon Joseph put up eye-popping numbers and is someone the Notre Dame football team should target in the transfer portal. In 20 total games, the product from College Station, Texas tallied nine interceptions, six pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss, and nine total interceptions.

Thanks to the gaudy numbers the 83rd ranked safety out of high school put up in college, he was a unanimous All-American selection in 2020.

Famously known for his incredible interception against Justin Fields and Garrett Wilson for Ohio State, Joseph would help the safeties group currently on track to lose three players this off-season. Kyle Hamilton, who sat out the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State, is headed to the NFL while depth-guys Litchfield Ajavon and Khari Gee are taking their talents elsewhere.

Though a guy or two from the 2022 class may move safety, none are labeled as such right now.

The trick with Notre Dame football in the transfer portal is fighting the right fit not just in terms of football but also academically. With that, Irish and Marcus Freeman certainly wouldn’t have to worry about Joseph fitting the mold being from Northwestern.

Though they weren’t involved with him at the high-school level, according to his 247 Sports recruiting profile, that shouldn’t worry fans too much. If I had to guess, besides a couple of other teams that could find their way into the mix, Texas A&M would be a team for Notre Dame to fend off in the recruitment process. Joseph is from College Station, after all.

Playmaking is a big concern for Notre Dame football

A combination of Houston Griffith and Brandon Joseph could be just what the doctor ordered for a team losing their best playmaker in the secondary. Houston could undoubtedly be more aggressive as he hasn’t tallied a single pass deflection or interception in his 29 games with Notre Dame (albeit some shortened games no doubt).

DJ Brown didn’t look too spectacular in the Oklahoma State game, but as it stands, he certainly figures into the rotation for 2022. Bringing a playmaker to the secondary would be helpful for a team that sorely missed its ballhawk in Kyle Hamilton.

Not all is lost in the future depth for Notre Dame as they just landed an absolute stud in Peyton Bowen out of Denton Guyer (TX) (see the theme here?). Brandon could be seen as a stopgap type of player thanks to the outstanding job the recruiting team is doing while Freeman gets his loaded 2023 class to campus.

Though I do believe he has a few years of eligibility left, Joseph could be an ideal candidate to bolt early for the NFL Draft.

While we don’t know for sure what the future holds, and unverifiable rumors are swirling, we can be absolutely sure that landing Brandon Joseph would be a massive win for the new regime in South Bend.