Notre Dame football: Brandon Joseph elite safety to replace Kyle Hamilton
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football program bolstered their secondary in a big way on Saturday, as All-American safety Brandon Joseph will join the Irish.
The Notre Dame football team went into the 2021 college football season with the best safety in the country on their roster. Kyle Hamilton has played his way into a top-5 draft pick billing heading into the 2021 campaign, and early on, he was making a play to be the first overall pick this April.
However, Hamilton would end up getting hurt during the USC game, and it significantly hurt the Irish defense, especially in the bowl game against Oklahoma State. Replacing players the caliber of Hamilton is never an easy task, but on Saturday, the Irish got a commitment that will once again give them an elite player playing safety in their secondary in 2022.
That elite player is Brandon Joseph, who became an All-American while playing for Northwestern, and now heads to South Bend to be a leader in the Irish defensive backfield. He will be joined by returning players like Houston Griffith and D.J. Brown, two guys who passed on the NFL to return to South Bend for one more season, making the Irish extremely deep at the safety position.
Notre Dame football gets an elite talent
During his time with the Northwestern Wildcats, Joseph established himself as one of the best safeties in the Big Ten, one of the best conferences in the country. Joseph burst out in 2021, becoming an All-American while racking up 80 tackles and three interceptions.
Recently visiting the Irish, Joseph made it known on Twitter that he would be announcing his decision on Saturday, and that started the rumor mill that he could land in South Bend. On Saturday, Joseph became Irish and is someone who could see his draft stock rise in a big way playing for Marcus Freeman on this Notre Dame defense.
For the Irish, it has been a great run in terms of the news they have been getting as they head into the 2022 college football season. They already got great play from some younger players in 2021, and are getting a ton of experience back, so there is no reason why they cannot be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender next season, and beyond.