Braden Fiske Is A Must Get For Notre Dame
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Notre Dame has not been a major transfer portal player but when they do it is for a major need, and that is true looking at the 2023 season as well. Notre Dame has made Western Michigan transfer defensive tackle Braden Fiske a priority, and landing him will play a key role in the Irish building a championship defense, and missing on him would be a big loss.
We saw how important Harvard transfer Chris Smith was to the 2022 defensive rotation, and Fiske brings a much more impactful skill set to the table. At this point the Irish are among his final three schools along with USC and Florida State.
There are a number of reasons why Fiske is so important to the Irish in 2023.
1. SIZE UPGRADE - While I think the constant emphasis on "getting bigger" that I see in many fan discussions gets overblown a bit I do believe that Notre Dame can and should get bigger up front. This is especially true if the Irish want to play more three-man fronts. Listed at 6-5 and 300 pounds, Fiske would certainly add a size boost to the defense. When I first saw his size my thought was, "He could play nose tackle, right?" Fiske, however, is no a nose tackle, he's a three-technique to five-technique type of player, which adds even more to how his size profile would benefit the defense.
Last season, defensive end Rylie Mills was the biggest starting defensive lineman at 295 pounds, the next biggest player was Jayson Ademilola at 285 pounds and next was Howard Cross, who checks in just around 270-75 pounds. If Fiske were to pick Notre Dame he would become their biggest starter, which would bump Mills down a bit and would give the Irish a much-needed boost in size.
2. IMPACT TRAITS - Fiske isn't a big space eating interior player, part of what makes him such a potentially impactful player for the Irish defense is that he's productive. Fiske has racked up 102 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks the last two seasons. Yes, that's playing against MAC schools, but in four games against Power 5 opponents he racked up 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
If you project those numbers out over a 12-game season against Notre Dame caliber competition that would result in him posting 42 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. When you consider he'll also be surrounded by better players it projects his numbers to be better than that, but even if he were to post those numbers it would be a major jump in disruptive production.
Notre Dame's most productive interior defender was Jayson Ademilola, who had just 29 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. Next was Howard Cross III with 33 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.
Over the last two seasons Fiske has racked up 102 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. No one on the Notre Dame defense came close to that over the same stretch.
3. VERSATILITY - Fiske can play a lot of spots in the Irish defense, and his ability to be disruptive is present at all of them. In a four-down front he projects best as a three-technique, which is the spot that was manned by Ademilola, whose Notre Dame career will be over after the bowl game. Landing Fiske would give the Irish a bigger, more disruptive player at that position in the base looks, which would be significant.
Fiske was forced to play big end for the Broncos when they faced Michigan State, and he stepped up and played well. He had 5 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in that contest. While that isn't his best position, he could certainly play there in a pinch in the four-down looks.
Notre Dame didn't run much three-down this year for a number of reasons, but I do believe the staff would like to do it more, and Fiske would allow that to become a more impactful look. In a three-man look he would give the Irish a pair of 295+ pound ends, along with Mills, that can be physical against the run and disruptive against the pass game. Fiske and Mills could form quite the potent duo in this kind of look.
With players like Jordan Botelho, Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham battling for spots at the Vyper, a 3-3 look could be far more advantageous than it was the last two seasons with Isaiah Foskey at the position. Foskey is a pure defensive end, but all three of the aforementioned players are converted linebackers, so having them at the Vyper with Fiske and Mills on the field together means Notre Dame could do a lot more of the looks you want in a defense that moves between a 4-2-5 and a 3-3-5 without having to substitute personnel.
4. DEPTH UPGRADE - Notre Dame will likely be quite young behind the starters next season, so being able to add a veteran inside allows the younger players to have a bit more time to develop before they become "the guys" in the Irish defense.
5. LEADERSHIP - The future of the interior of the defensive line is likely current players like Gabriel Rubio, Jason Onye, Tyson Ford and Donovan Hinish, as well as freshmen Devan Houstan and possibly Brenan Vernon and Boubacar Traore. As stated above, all could use one more year before being forced into roles where they have to be "the guy" inside. Fiske will be a 6th year senior in 2023 and he was a captain for the Broncos.
Having a player with his talent and experience would prove incredibly beneficial to those talented younger players. He not only gives them more time to grow and develop, he has the leadership and experience to also help make them better players. That means if Fiske comes to Notre Dame and embraces this role he could have an impact for the Irish that goes beyond the one season he would be in uniform.
That could be huge for Notre Dame.
FILM EVALUATION
Notre Dame director of recruiting Ryan Roberts did a quick film breakdown of Fiske as well.
A scheme versatile defensive lineman for Western Michigan over the last few seasons, Fiske has been asked to do everything from playing nose tackle and working all the way out to a five technique. This past year, he was even asked to play more of a nine technique as a standup rusher against Michigan State with injuries to other defensive ends on the roster, and did it with high success. That alignment versatility is a rare component that you do not see too often.
Originally coming to the Broncos program as a slender 240-pound defensive lineman, Fiske has now grown to play between 290 and 300 pounds pretty consistently. Fiske has added good weight to his frame and his power profile has been a big beneficiary. He is able to play well inside his frame and generate a ton of power in some very tight windows. This allows him to anchor down soundly against double teams and work through contact.
Fiske’s best projection is in a one gap penetration style defense that allows him to shoot gaps and create penetration. He has a good combination of short area quickness and first step explosiveness to put opposing offensive lineman in some very difficult positions with a tough time to recover. For a player who fits best inside ideally, Fiske is surprisingly solid in space. This allows him to play outside his frame and finish a variety of plays.
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