Notre Dame went back into Indianapolis and pulled out another defensive lineman in Brandon Tiassum. Big, long and athletic, Tiassum profiles similarly to classmate Elijah Taylor, showing the type of versatility to play at either defensive tackle spot with hopes that they’ll get some pass rush from him as well.
Not a national target, Tiassum was an early offer and a summer commitment, and a building block in the 2015 recruiting class. With the star rankings erased from the board, Tiassum now begins a career in South Bend that’ll depend on the Irish coaching staff evaluating their defensive line recruits properly.
BRANDON TIASSUM
6'3.5", 302 lbs.
Freshman, No. 77, DL
RECRUITING PROFILE
Tiassum was a three-star prospect and had middle-of-the-road offers when he committed to the Irish. He drew interest from some mid-major programs before getting offers from Boston College, Louisville, Indiana and Miami.
He participated in the Semper Fidelis All-American game and was a 2A All-State player in Indiana.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
At this point, Tiassum feels like a wild card. He played in a small-school conference, on a team with 30-plus players on its entire roster. That allowed Tiassum to do everything, playing both ways and showcasing an athleticism that helped him start on the high school basketball team as well.
You can’t teach Tiassum’s size, and he’s got the length and athletic ability to do some damage. But it’s a big jump from 2A football in Indiana to Notre Dame, and you’ve gotta think that after a reacclimatization process, we’ll see what kind of football player comes out the other side. The Semper Fi game was an eye-opening change. The college game will be another one.
CRYSTAL BALL
Another redshirt candidate. Tiassum will get what he puts into this season. If that’s a year of working hard on the scout team, battling against one of the finest offensive lines in the country, that can only help him. But if it’s sleep walking through the season, then he’ll be in the same place next spring.
It’s hard not to see a kid with a good head on his shoulders when you see his recruiting video. And while he’s probably one of the more raw prospects in the class, he’s got great upside. So Tiassum fits into the RKG category. And that’s far from a bad thing.
THE 2015 IRISH A-to-Z
Josh Adams, RB
Josh Barajas, OLB
Nicky Baratti, S
Alex Bars, OL
Asmar Bilal, OLB
Hunter Bivin, OL
Grant Blankenship, DE
Jonathan Bonner, DE
Miles Boykin, WR
Justin Brent, WR
Greg Bryant, RB
Devin Butler, CB
Jimmy Byrne, OL
Daniel Cage, DL
Amir Carlisle, RB
Nick Coleman, DB
Te’von Coney, LB
Shaun Crawford, DB
Scott Daly, LS
Sheldon Day, DL
Michael Deeb, LB
Micah Dew-Treadway, DL
Steve Elmer, RG
Matthias Farley, DB
Nicco Fertitta, DB
Tarean Folston, RB
Will Fuller, WR
Jarrett Grace, LB
Jalen Guyton, WR
Mark Harrell, OL
Jay Hayes, DL
Mike Heuerman, TE
Kolin Hill, DE
Tristen Hoge, C
Corey Holmes, WR
Chase Hounshell, TE
Torii Hunter, Jr. WR
Alizé Jones, TE
Jarron Jones, DL
DeShone Kizer, QB
Tyler Luatua, TE
Cole Luke, CB
Nick Martin, C
Greer Martini, LB
Jacob Matuska, DL
Mike McGlinchey, OT
Colin McGovern, OL
Peter Mokwuah, DL
John Montelus, OL
Nyles Morgan, LB
Sam Mustipher, OL
Quenton Nelson, OL
Tyler Newsome, P
Romeo Okwara, DE
James Onwualu, LB
C.J. Prosise, WR/RB
Doug Randolph, LB/DE
Max Redfield, S
Corey Robinson, WR
Trevor Ruhland, OL
CJ Sanders, WR
Joe Schmidt, LB
Avery Sebastian, S
Elijah Shumate, S
Jaylon Smith, LB
Durham Smythe, TE
Equanimeous St. Brown, WR
Ronnie Stanley, LT
Elijah Taylor, DL