Portal Thoughts: Northwestern Safety Brandon Joseph Is A Player Notre Dame Should Push For

Notre Dame has rightly kicked the tires on a number of transfers this offseason, but narrowing down on targets they want to push for is another story. Notre Dame must make sure it is focusing its attention on the right players, and the right fits.

One player that Notre Dame absolutely must target is Northwestern grad transfer Brandon Joseph.

JOSEPH BIO

Joseph is a two-year starter for the Wildcats. He is originally from College Station, Texas.

2019 Stats: 4 tackles (4 games)
2020 Stats: 52 tackles, 1 TFL, 6 INT, 2 break ups (9 games)
2021 Stats: 80 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 3 INT, 4 break ups

Career Stats (25 games): 136 tackles, 9 INT, 6 break ups, 2.5 TFL

*** Team captain for the Wildcats in 2021.

*** 2020 Consensus All-American

*** 1st Team All-American by Associated Press, AFCA, CBS Sports, Sporting News, USA TODAY Sports, Walter Camp

*** 2021 Third Team All-Big Ten
*** 2020 First Team All-Big Ten
*** 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year

WHY JOSEPH?

Notre Dame's safety depth chart is a bit problematic heading into the 2022 season, and we saw some warts at the position in the Fiesta Bowl.

There is promise in the form of rising juniors Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts, who have the combination of athleticism and playmaking potential to be impact players in time. Both, however, still need a lot of work and are far from a sure thing.

Veteran Houston Griffith announced his intention to return in 2022, but we don't yet know about DJ Brown, who had a very rough performance against Oklahoma State. Griffith hasn't shown himself to be much of a playmaker up to this point and Brown has struggled against the better offense on the schedule.

Freshman Khari Gee has already announced he is transferring, as has junior Litchfield Ajavon. It's not certain that junior KJ Wallace will return, and he failed to make an impact this season.

Outside of Henderson and Watts there isn't much upside in the group. Joseph was an All-American in 2020 and has more passes defensed (interceptions and breakups combined) than Notre Dame's entire safety depth chart.

He can play over the top, he can play off the hash, he can play the alleys and Joseph can play both the field and boundary. He would step on campus and immediately become Notre Dame's best safety.

A safety rotation of Joseph, Watts, Henderson and Griffith would give the Irish a significant upgrade over what we saw after Hamilton went down in 2021.

If Notre Dame makes a push it would have a strong chance to add Joseph, who clearly comes with a strong academic background. After breaking down his film it's a no brainer for me, this is a player Notre Dame needs to make a move on.

JOSEPH FILM ROOM

Here is the film analysis of Joseph, which was put together by Irish Breakdown recruiting director Ryan Roberts:

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 (Cincinatti 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.

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