UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 22, 2022

Isaiah Foskey

Press Conference

Notre Dame 44, UNLV 21

Q. Isaiah, two opportunities on fourth down today to get a fourth down stop in the red zone. It just doesn't happen for you guys. Was that particularly frustrating, especially with that play with Harrison Bailey not being able to keep him on the ground?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: It was just something that the defense always wants to stop them on fourth down, especially in the red zone. It's something that all defenses, not just ours, wants that to happen. You want to get off the field and give the offense the ball.

Q. Looking just at what the offense was able to do today, particularly in some short yardage situations, just in practice, have you seen anything from them that's changed over in the last couple of weeks?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: From UNLV, they did a little bit different plays that we weren't expecting and didn't practice, but it was just something we had to adjust, and we did today.

Q. After last week was there a sense among the older players on the team that you guys needed to kind of take advantage and make things happen in your favor this week?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: Yeah, the whole emphasis this last week was just urgency, like everything is right now. That's what we did. Everything was just right now, be intentional with it, start out fast, and that's what we did.

Q. How important do you think those two punt blocks were in terms of the flow of the game?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: I feel like it was very important. We got a lot of momentum, gave the ball back to the offense in plus got territory, which is great for the whole team.

Q. The punt blocks you sort of take as in like what you're looking for there, like why that's been an effective part of this team's identity this season?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: Special teams is always something that Notre Dame always hypes on, always works on, and Coach Mase put me in the right position to run a long snapper to make a play.

We've seen The Opening for the last couple games that UNLV showed, and we just took an opportunity from it.

Q. Marcus was in here, and he said this is a good football team that doesn't always play like a good football team. I was curious how you process that in terms of like, okay, here's what's left the rest of the season. Here's what this team can still be.

ISAIAH FOSKEY: It's just something that I see it as we're a really good football team. We need to be more consistent on offense and defense. You see on defense we let a couple big runs, but that's something we need to be intentional with the little things. That's what we're going to head into Syracuse with.

Q. Isaiah, how do you divvy up your time in terms of film study in a week between the special teams opportunities like that, punt block especially, and your day job? And how much does Coach Mason coming up to you and saying, I've got an idea? How do you make time for that?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: It just goes in my film study. This last week we had fall break so it was a little bit easier. That's probably why I got a couple punt blocks. A lot more film study with that. I just add it into my film study. If that is extra time I have to do, it's just extra time I have to do.

Q. And you have an extra coach in Bo, and Bo has taken on that extra role of breaking it down for you. Was he helpful in those punt blocks today? What's it like to include him now that he's hurt?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: It's hard to miss Bo in this game, but he's a great captain. He leads the special teams in the right way. He was coaching up everybody, especially me, to get a punt block. He gets a couple of punt blocks every year. We're going back and forth trying to get punt blocks, but I think I'm ahead right now.

Q. How would you evaluate your play this season heading into today's game?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: I feel like everything was just put together this game. I was getting to the quarterback, and special teams, I was getting a lot of punt blocks, two punt blocks. I just feel like everything just came together for me, and it was something I was looking forward to.

Q. Coach Freeman talked about everyone needed to be motivated after the way the last week went. How has the way the season gone led into what you did today? Do you feel you were a more motivated football team today?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: I felt we were way more motivated. What Coach Freeman started off this whole week is urgency right now. That's what motivated us to start off the game fast. When you make big plays, it's easy to be motivated. You want to make that next big play on offense and on defense.

Q. Coach Freeman was talking about how he stressed to you guys how important it is to win at home. I guess you lost two games at home this year, and the previous five years, you've lost two games altogether. How do you get that feeling back, where you get that home-field advantage?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: It's just a mindset. It's just like UNLV coming here and just trying to take over our home. It's something that it's a mindset that we're not going to let that happen.

Q. Do you guys talk about it between yourselves?

ISAIAH FOSKEY: Yeah, we talk about it as a team. We just have that mindset, every team that tries to come here is trying to take over our home. Everyone just doesn't want to let that happen.