Tag: Braden Fiske

Notre Dame misses out to Florida State on defensive lineman transfer

What does Notre Dame need for help on the DLine next year?

Notre Dame has had quite the run on the defensive line in recent years but that has undoubtedly taken a slight step back recently.  The Irish thought they had help on the way via the transfer portal but missed out the day after Christmas to Florida State.

Defensive tackle Braden Fiske, formerly of Western Michigan, announced his intent to transfer to Florida State.  Fiske recently took a visit to Notre Dame and it had appeared the Irish coaching staff liked their chances of landing his talents.

Fiske is coming off a year that saw him record 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and six sacks.  This one stings as Fiske didn’t just attend Western Michigan, but grew up in Notre Dame’s back yard as he attended Michigan City (Indiana) High School.

Back to the drawing board Notre Dame goes for help at defensive tackle and across the board in the transfer portal.

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USC transfer portal target Braden Fiske chooses Florida State over Trojans and Notre Dame

USC wasn’t the favorite for Braden Fiske, but missing out on him does affirm the need to land other transfer portal prospects who can rush the QB.

USC and Lincoln Riley have done really well in the transfer portal, and there will be more opportunities to add quality players in the coming weeks and months, but the Trojans did not have a good Christmas weekend in the portal.

Just before Christmas Day, former Tulsa offensive tackle Dillon Tate committed to Auburn. The Tigers and Hugh Freeze won what was a two-team battle with USC for a premier offensive lineman.

On Monday morning, the other really big USC transfer portal target went to another Southern school.

Braden Fiske, the pass rusher from Western Michigan who was being courted by USC, Florida State, and Notre Dame, picked Florida State. The Seminoles and Mike Norvell got him. Norvell is building even more confidence and optimism for the 2023 season in Tallahassee. The Seminoles appear poised to become a top-two team in the ACC alongside Clemson. They are doing at a much slower pace what Lincoln Riley and USC were able to do in one year:

USC needs depth in the trenches. The Trojans would have loved to go 1 for 2 in these recent recruitments. They went 0 for 2.

Failure here is hardly devastating or disastrous, but it does place more emphasis on being able to hit some prime transfer targets for quality linemen across the country.

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Battle for Braden Fiske is one of the bigger transfer portal dramas in college football

Braden Fiske is reportedly down to three schools: #USC, Notre Dame, and Florida State. This is a big transfer portal competition.

The USC Trojans have landed some big-time players in the transfer portal, but their work is far from done. More precisely, USC has addressed a few very specific needs in the portal, but other big needs remain unmet.

One of them: pass rushing. USC needs a pass rushing stud to put a lot of heat on opposing quarterbacks, especially since the 2023 Pac-12 Conference is likely to have a lot of high-quality quarterbacks.

Bo Nix of Oregon. Michael Penix of Washington. Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. The list goes on. USC needs a defense which is more disruptive, more imposing, more able to make opposing offenses and quarterbacks uncomfortable.

Braden Fiske can do that.

The pass rusher from Western Michigan is — in the eyes of most college football portal analysts — down to USC, Florida State, and Notre Dame. That’s a high-profile collection of schools in a three-way battle for an equation-changing defender who can make life miserable for opposing QBs.

Don’t worry too much about USC having a top-10 recruiting class. It’s more about the quality of the roster, which includes the recruiting class but also involves portal acquisitions. Doing well in both areas is what counts the most.

We talked about this with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football.

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USC hosts coveted, high-value Western Michigan transfer Braden Fiske

The USC #Trojans are hosting Western Michigan transfer Braden Fiske for a visit. He has 13.5 sacks in his college career. This would be big for Alex Grinch.

The transfer portal season is heating up, and the USC Trojans are going to be a hot commodity once again.

Lincoln Riley came in last year and landed a ton of high-profile names, with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and Oregon star RB Travis Dye as a couple of them, not to mention Jordan Addison.

Before we continue with this story, let’s make one point clear: Pursuing a Mid-American Conference transfer might not seem like that big a deal. The MAC is not stuffed with high-end talent. However, you might remember that Central Michigan offensive lineman Eric Fisher was the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he is still in the league a decade later. He has had a very good career, and he’s a MAC product.

A conference doesn’t have to be 10 or 20 deep in talent. Just getting one key prospect from a smaller conference can change everything.

Now let’s continue with our story:

This year should be more of the same for USC in terms of raiding the transfer portal. The Trojans are wasting no time trying to add talent to the roster. This weekend, Western Michigan defensive standout Braden Fiske will be taking a visit to USC as the Trojans continue to shore up the defensive side of the ball (h/t TrojanSeij).

The Trojans already landed in the top three for Coastal Carolina transfer LB Josaiah Stewart, and they got good news when Shane Lee announced he would return to L.A. for his final year of college football.

Alex Grinch and Lincoln Riley need to prioritize getting help on defense, especially after a brutal ending to the season despite having one of the best offenses in college football, which included the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback.

Fiske is a popular name in the portal, and he is fresh off as a visit to Florida State. In 2022, he finished the year with 57 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, so his presence in L.A. would be a tremendous addition.

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The Athletic suggesting that Notre Dame is going after a MAC portal defensive end

A very interesting development

When Irish defensive end [autotag]Isaiah Foskey[/autotag] decided to forgo his senior season and also the [autotag]TaxSlayer Gator Bowl[/autotag], it came as no surprise. Brother’s Justin and[autotag]Jayson Ademilola[/autotag] are seniors who could stay another year, the only returning significant contributor for sure returning is[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag].

There is a big hole that needs to be filled on the defensive line, even if the Ademilola brother’s return. With that in mind, The Athletic’s Max Olson went over what he’s hearing on transfer portal (subscription required) prospects and he mentioned Notre Dame going after Western Michigan’s [autotag]Braden Fiske[/autotag]. Olson has heard that [autotag]Florida State[/autotag], [autotag]USC[/autotag], and [autotag]Oklahoma[/autotag] are going after the defensive end, so the competition is fierce for the transfer.

Fiske has already visited Florida State and it is unsure of where his next visit could be. If [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] was able to get him to South Bend, it would surely be a very interesting development.

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Report: Notre Dame offers transfer DL a scholarship after visit

Come back home big fella!

The Irish are already looking at the transfer portal to fill holes ahead of the 2023 season. Notre Dame brought in former Western Michigan defensive lineman [autotag]Braden Fiske[/autotag] for a visit. It looks like it went extremely well; a scholarship was extended according to a report from Allen Trieu of 247Sports.

It will not be a quick decision for Fiske. He visited Florida and has offers from Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia and Penn State among others. The Michigan City, Indiana, native said he’s “still open, I have a lot of in-home meetings this week,” so expect to find out shortly where Notre Dame stands in his recruitment.

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] hopes playing closer to home is a draw for Fiske, but he has plenty of options for playing time at his next destination. We should know soon if the Irish are still an option for Fiske.

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Gators offer WMU defensive line transfer to kick off portal season

The transfer portal is filling up and Florida is already identifying some of its top targets. The Gators are looking to add some defensive line depth through the portal.

It didn’t take long for Western Michigan transfer defensive lineman [autotag]Braden Fiske[/autotag] to pick up offers from the Power Five. Florida is one of a handful of teams joining the race for Fiske, according to a report from Swamp247.

The Gators offered Fiske on Thursday, but they’ll have plenty of competition for the highly-desired transfer. Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers and West Virginia have all offered, and Florida State and Miami are interested in him too.

Fiske has the size to play in the SEC. He stands at 6-foot-5-inches tall and weighs in around 300 pounds. As an interior defensive line guy that has also spent time on the edge, Fiske put together an impressive season at Western Michigan, collecting 58 total tackles (31 solo), 12 tackles for a loss and 6.0 sacks.

The early interest in Fiske isn’t entirely unexpected. Although he isn’t a graduate transfer, Fiske was able to enter the portal before the Dec. 5 date because Western Michigan let go of its head coach. Florida’s interest in him is unsurprising given his talent and size, but there’s also a need for a big man on the defensive line next season. [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] could leave the team for the NFL, and Florida lacks depth up front.

Notre Dame is another school to watch out for in this recruiting battle. The Fighting Irish will get him on campus this weekend, and Fiske is an Indiana native. Staying close to home might help determine his decision, but Fiske says playing time and NFL development also loom large.

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