Film Room: Breaking Down Notre Dame Safety Brandon Joseph
Irish Breakdown recruiting director Ryan Roberts took a dive into the film of the latest addition to the Notre Dame roster, former Northwestern All-American Brandon Joseph. Here is Ryan's NFL Draft evaluation for Joseph.
NAME: Brandon Joseph
POSITION: Free Safety
HOMETOWN: College Station, Texas
HIGH SCHOOL: College Station High School
BIRTHDAY: 2/5/00
HEIGHT: 6-1 (estimated)
WEIGHT: 192 pounds (estimated)
BACKGROUND
- 2021: Selected as a AP First Team Preseason All-America, Walter Camp Award Watch List, Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, Jim Thorpe Award Watch List, Walter Camp Preseason All-American (First Team), Athlon Sports Preseason All-American (First Team), PFF Preseason All-American (First Team), Phil Steele Preseason All-American (First Team), PFF Preseason All-Big Ten (First Team) and Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten (First Team). Voted as a team captain.
- 2020: AFCA All-America First Team (Unanimous) during 2020 season. Associated Press First Team...Sporting News First Team. AP All-Big Ten First Team. AP Big Ten Newcomer of the Year. Appeared in four games during the 2019 season. Verbally committed to Northwestern on December 15, 2018. Rated a three-star prospect and 127th-ranked player in Texas by 247sports. Helped lead College Station High School to the Texas 5A State Championship. Chose Northwestern over Texas Tech.
STRENGTHS
- Absurd versatility; working on the roof and in man
- Affects the catch point; plus length
- Incredible ball skills
- Notable COD
- Scrappy competitor in run game
- Proactive player with great instincts
AREAS TO IMPROVE
- In need of physical development, fill out frame
- Angles working the alley need to improve
- Some missed tackles; comes out of control at times
- Up and down 2021 season
SUMMARY
A part of a senior-laden Northwestern defense in 2020, then-redshirt freshman safety Brandon Joseph became the most dynamic defender on a staunch unit that ranked top ten nationally. That play took a somewhat step back in 2021 - but he still showcased the traits that makes him a dynamic player on the back end.
Joseph has some Jessie Bates (Cincinnati Bengals) vibes to his game, boasting a long and athletic frame (6-1, 195 pounds) with notable range working from depth.
In pass coverage, it is extremely difficult to poke holes in Joseph’s game. He has experience working in multiple alignments, flashing big time potential manned up in the slot, working short zones and playing on the roof. Working from two high shells for the Wildcats mostly, the team implements a lot of post-snap rotation involving Joseph as the boundary safety.
In many instances, this rotates him to a true single-high role. Whether working as a center fielder or from two-high, Joseph showcases notable range on the back end with superb fluidness.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is that he is an incredibly proactive player who diagnoses plays quickly both in the pass and run game. Joseph is twitchy with really impressive change of direction. That helps him a ton working in man, where his click and close is extraordinary from a safety.
His length is able to make him a menace at the catch point, routinely making plays on the football with outstanding ball skills. Joseph is a true ball hawk by every definition, coming down with six interceptions in the condensed Big Ten season with some in spectacular fashion.
In the run game, Joseph is a scrappy competitor who has zero issue mixing it up. Joseph could be well served by filling out his long frame, adding strength to work more efficiently when put on the second level.
His angles can be a bit hit or miss working from inside out. There are several missed tackles on film, coming in a little out of control at times, failing to come to balance. Joseph can be an ankle biter in spurts, needing to improve his overall power profile.
All the inconsistencies in the run game are fixable and the bigger key is that Joseph is more than willing. His work in pass coverage is what is going to put him in such high regard. He is the type of coverage-versatile player that the NFL covets to a high degree.
SUMMATION
"Jessie Bates clone who excels from the roof but is also equally as effective working in man coverage. Proactive cover man who makes everyone around him better."
FINAL GRADE: 1st Round | 19-32 | Strong Starter (8.2)
NFL COMPARISON: Jessie Bates
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Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
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