Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 APRIL 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED "A lot of it comes from setting up the long-arm," Foskey said. "I set it up a lot with power in the first probably cou- ple plays, but I'll switch it up here and there. I try to see what he does off that power. I stick with the long-arm if he's weak in the hip and I can basically keep driving him back. Or I go stab-club. It's always showing that long-arm move." The NFL teams he has spoken with have given him affirmation that his ap- proach is sound. "They full-on agree with how I go about it," Foskey said. "They say, 'Look at what [tackles] have been beaten with,' but that's what I've always been doing." Foskey did study the tackles at the Senior Bowl beforehand with trainer BT Jordan, he said. He identified strengths and weaknesses. He felt prepared. That was just one step in the pre-draft pro- cess, though. It didn't tank his draft stock, which was a Day 2 projection when he declared and Day 2 heading into the combine in Indianapolis. The combine was Foskey's chance to display arguably his best selling point as an NFL prospect: athleticism. The 6-foot-5, 264-pound Foskey was tied for ninth among 28 defensive ends in 40-yard dash time (4.58 seconds), tied for ninth out of 31 in the broad jump (10 feet, 5 inches) and tied for 11th out of 31 in vertical jump (34 inches). "Just showcase that I'm one of the fastest defensive ends for my size," Fo- skey said before his workout. "I'm one of the most athletic guys — I can jump the highest, broad jump the farthest. Anything they test me with, I'm pretty much going to be the top prospect for it." Foskey returned to Notre Dame for his senior year — bypassing a potential second- or third-round selection last spring — in part because NFL feedback said he could improve on his run de- fense. A two-play sequence on the goal line in the game against North Carolina Sept. 24 displayed his upside as a run defender. He beat a lineman one-on- one for a tackle for loss both times. That sequence has frequently come up in his discussions with teams. "I feel like all 32 teams know I can stop the run and get to the passer," Foskey said. "The UNC game, those back-to-back plays showing I can dominate the tackle and get a TFL on back-to-back plays. That's a clip a lot of teams like to see." That sequence, from Foskey's point of view: "The first time I got the TFL, I was just basically, 'Let me go right through the tackle.' That was my mentality, es- pecially since it was goal line. Let me get that first step down and go right through the tackle. I pretty much did that, but redirected really fast and got the TFL. "The second time, it happened in like a split second. I just reacted really fast. I was like, 'Wow. This is like the exact same play.' They ran the same play twice in a row. There was one extra blocker. I just did the same thing twice in a row." The 2022 season also put two more blocked punts on Foskey's ledger, dou- bling his career total. He was a fixture on Notre Dame's punt block unit, which tied for the FBS lead in blocks (7). He's a one- on-one matchup challenge for a tight end or linebacker in punt protection. If that's his ticket to the field right away, he will run toward it. He might even ask to do it first. "Definitely going on punt block," Foskey said. "I need to start going on punt block. That's all we do. Imagine blocking a punt in the NFL. That's a big change in momentum right there." ✦ Notre Dame 2023 NFL Combine Results TIGHT END MICHAEL MAYER Height/weight: 6-foot-4½, 249 pounds Arms: 31 5 ⁄8 inches Hands: 9½ inches 40-yard dash: 4.7 (T-9 out of 13 tight ends) 10-yard split: 1.66 (13 out of 13) Broad jump: 9 feet, 10 inches (9 out of 15) Vertical jump: 32.5 inches (12 out of 14) DEFENSIVE END ISAIAH FOSKEY Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 264 pounds Arms: 34 inches Hands: 9 7 ⁄8 inches 40-yard dash: 4.58 (T-9 out of 28 defensive ends) 10-yard split: 1.66 (T-21 out of 28) 3-cone drill: 7.28 (T-6 out of 9) 20-yard shuttle: 4.41 (5 out of 11) Broad jump: 10 feet, 5 inches (T-9 out of 31) Vertical jump: 34 inches (T-11 out of 31) Bench press: 22 reps (T-15 out of 25) OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JARRETT PATTERSON Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 306 pounds Arms: 31 3 ⁄8 inches Hands: 10 inches 40-yard dash: 5.33 (28 out of 36 offensive linemen) 10-yard split: 1.82 (24 out of 36) 3-cone drill: 7.96 (19 out of 21) 20-yard shuttle: 4.73 (13 out of 25) Broad jump: 8 feet, 10 inches (T-19 out of 40) Vertical jump: 29.5 inches (T-18 out of 40) SAFETY BRANDON JOSEPH Height/weight: 6-foot, 209 pounds Arms: 30 7 ⁄8 inches Hands: 9 inches 40-yard dash: 4.62 (T-15 out of 20 safeties) 10-yard split: 1.56 (T-8 out of 20) 3-cone drill: 7.08 (2 out of 2) 20-yard shuttle: 4.23 (2 out of 3) Broad jump: 9 feet, 10 inches (T-15 out of 19) Vertical jump: 30.5 inches (19 out of 19) Bench press: 17 reps (T-8 out of 17) Results reflect the drills each player opted to participate in.