ND FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Foskey poised to make impact for ND in 2021

Apr. 11—SOUTH BEND — Rising junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey has shown flashes of freakish potential during his time at Notre Dame, but now as he's pinpointed to be one of the best defensive lineman for the Irish, the former four-star recruit from Antioch, California, will be expected to make an even bigger impact on the defensive side of the ball in 2021.

"With (defensive coordinator) Marcus Freeman coming in, I've been working on a lot more drops, a lot more covering," said Foskey during Saturday's media availability. "But I'm still a pass rusher, so I've been working on a lot of technical stuff. Working with my hands, being a lot more physical at the point of attack. Working on coverages is something new for me, but I'm starting to like it a lot more."

A peak athlete listed at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 257 pounds, Foskey has shown out on special teams with two blocked kicks and on defense with 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks after playing in all 12 games in 2020.

All of the ability is there for Foskey to be an anchor on Notre Dame's defensive line in 2021, but Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly still sees Foskey's game as incomplete at this point in the spring.

"We're still in the work-in-progress mode with Isaiah," Kelly said. "We know what he can do off the edge. He has the ability to win off the edge. There are some things that we have to continue to work on with him in terms of play-after-play. ... Some of our players, we have to kind of tweak things now that they are in more of a full-time role. This year, Isaiah's getting a lot more reps so we have to look at how he responds to more of a workload. And right now, we are kind of in the middle of that process of molding him into the kind of player that we want. ... I think we'll have a good base-level in terms of how he trains in the offseason to get him to be the elite player that we want him to be going into the fall."

GRIFFITH'S RETURN COULD BRING STABILITY TO SECONDARY

In the offseason, Notre Dame safety Houston Griffith entered the transfer portal, where he sat for 18 days in January.

The rising senior made the decision to come back to South Bend, and that experience should be welcomed with the ability to plug him in beside All-American player Kyle Hamilton at the tail end of the defense.

"Having the conversation with coach Freeman and coach Kelly, just knowing I have a home here, and that they really wanted me to come here and compete, I couldn't turn that down," Griffith said. "Also having the chance to come back and finish up my degree, which I'll be finishing in the next few weeks, is something I couldn't pass up either, so now I'm just looking forward to playing in this defense and helping this unit grow as a team."

Griffith has bounced around at nickel, corner and safety throughout his career with the Irish and has continued to evolve within the defense over the course of three seasons. Now under the tutelage of coach Freeman in his first year with the Irish, he has the opportunity to put everything together and become a consistent playmaker in the secondary for his team in 2021.

"My football IQ," said Griffith when asked where he's grown so far this offseason. "It's something I've really been trying to work on. Being around (safeties coach Chris) O'Leary, and the tips he gives me helps me go out and play faster. ... My IQ has really grown over the last few months, and that's something that's going to continue to grow going into the season."

CORRELL LOOKS TO LOCK UP CENTER POSITION

The Notre Dame offensive line lost four of its five starters from a season ago, and that means big opportunities for many of the players on the depth chart.

The only returning starter Jarrett Patterson — who is still recovering from a foot injury sustained last season — and senior Josh Lugg are considered locks to be starters on the line with junior Zeke Correll looking to be the favorite to start at center.

Correll has played sparingly in his two seasons with the Irish but saw time in the starting lineup in spurts during his sophomore campaign. He suffered an ankle injury in his first-career start last season against North Carolina but came back and played for Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl against Alabama.

"Really being able to handle the pressure situations," said Corrall when asked about how his starting experience has helped him. "We have some high-pressure situations during practice, and I've just being able to handle it because of the experience from last season going into this season. Going up against that type of competition along with our great defense, which is one of the best defenses in the country, has really prepared me and will really prepare us for the season."

With all of the moving parts, and the uncertainties of some open spots on the depth chart, coach Kelly doesn't want to commit to who will fill what positions with a lot of the offseason left ahead.

"We're not closing our minds to any combinations on that offensive line," he said. "I want to keep it competitive. I don't want to just give Zeke the starting job at center because I want to keep competition. ... I have to keep him growing and getting better. He has a lot to work on, so we're keeping our options open."

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.