all former JUCO transfers eligible<\/a> for the 2025 season
\u2013 Zero-star recruit who had his senior season shifted to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic
\u2013 Played quarterback in high school and led Gar-Field to its first district title since 1994
\u2013 Zero Division 1 offers despite being the District Offensive Player of the Year
\u2013 Switched to safety when he entered JUCO
\u2013 No. 10 JUCO transfer rating and No. 1 JUCO safety transfer
\u2013 First-team All-Big 10 and First-team All-American (2025)
\u2013 Lott IMPACT Trophy Semifinalist (2025)
\u2013 All-ACC Honorable Mention (2024)
\u2013 NJCAA first-team All-American and Defensive Player of the Year (2022)
\u2013 Organized a free football camp with his mother in his hometown
\u2013 Graduated from USC with a degree in Communications
\u2013 Loves East Coast seafood
\u2013 Described as a \u201cvocal alpha\u201d in the locker room<\/p>\nTape Breakdown<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald is a ball hawk by trade. Despite missing the final three games of last season, he still finished third in the Big Ten with five interceptions. His ability to generate turnovers from his safety spot isn\u2019t a product of luck. His background as a high school quarterback gives him a unique perspective on the back end, allowing him to process route combinations and patterns more quickly than most. That processing speed consistently puts him in position to make a play on the ball.<\/p>\n
On top of the mental side of his game, he shows impressive closing burst once he diagnoses what\u2019s happening in front of him. While he doesn\u2019t have true sideline\u2011to\u2011sideline track speed, he has more than enough short\u2011area acceleration to close passing windows in his vicinity.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Fitzgerald, lacking elite straight\u2011line speed isn\u2019t a death sentence for a safety. The position is rich in nuance, and he shows impressive skill and fluidity in his movements. His transition from a backpedal into a sprint is seamless, and he wastes little motion when changing direction. That efficiency of movement allows him to cover a lot of ground, even though he tested as the slowest safety at the Combine.<\/p>\n
His footwork serves him well both as a zone defender and in man coverage. In zone, his stop\u2011start quickness lets him close passing windows and force quarterbacks to hesitate before attacking his area. In man coverage, his quick feet allow him to stay glued to a receiver\u2019s hip and transition smoothly through their breaks.<\/p>\n
His tackling is an element of his game that often flies under the radar. For a safety\u2014particularly one known for taking the ball away\u2014comfort and effectiveness in the box can become an afterthought. Fitzgerald, however, plays with a tough, physical mindset and aggressively attacks the ball carrier.<\/p>\n
Like many defensive backs, he will often target the ankles against bigger ball carriers, but he has generally proven to be reliable when he gets his hands on the opponent. His issues in run defense have less to do with tackling and more with the angles he takes to the football.<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald\u2019s primary flaw is his over-aggressiveness. While it unquestionably boosts his turnover production, it also makes him a classic high-risk, high-reward defender. In coverage, he can be vulnerable to double moves and play fakes, revealing just how eager he is to jump routes and make a play on the ball.<\/p>\n
Against the run, his aggression manifests as over-pursuit. He can misjudge his angle and end up too far in front of the ball carrier instead of staying attached to their hip. More importantly, that aggressiveness can cloud his anticipation. Complex blocking schemes can confuse him, pull him out of position, and leave the defense exposed to explosive gains.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
Overall, Fitzgerald is a prospect with the talent to outperform his draft slot. His lack of straight-line speed will push some teams away, but make no mistake: he\u2019s a playmaker in the secondary. Throughout his career, he\u2019s been a magnet for the football, largely because of his understanding of passing concepts rooted in his quarterback background.<\/p>\n
From day one, he projects as a quality coverage defender on the back end. His movement skills and transitions are so smooth that he can change direction without losing speed or balance. Fitzgerald may not be the fastest safety, but his burst and acceleration allow him to close the gap between himself and the nearest threat in a hurry.<\/p>\n
His value will likely be tied to teams that feature more split-safety looks. Organizations built on heavy Cover 1 or Cover 3 may hesitate to invest in a deep safety with limited recovery speed. His inherent high-risk mentality can also test the patience of defensive coaches, as it introduces greater variance in big plays.<\/p>\n
Whoever drafts him gets a high-floor player who can develop into a solid starter. While his scheme dependence places a ceiling on his long-term upside, he profiles as a potential value pick for the team that tailors his role correctly.<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald\u2019s game closely mirrors Damontae Kazee\u2019s. Physically, they are nearly identical in stature, and their play styles track as well. Both safeties play with an aggressive mindset that can generate plenty of turnovers but also surrender big plays at a similar rate. They rely on anticipation, which boosts play speed but can cause misreads, false steps, and poor positioning.<\/p>\n
NFL Draft Projection: Early-Mid Day 3
Steelers Depot Draft Grade<\/a>: 7.8 (Spot Starter)
Grade Range: 7.6 \u2013 8.3
Games Watched: @ Virginia Tech (2024 \u2013 NC State), @ Georgia Tech (2024 \u2013 NC State), vs. Missouri State (2025), @ Purdue (2025), @ Illinois (2025), vs. Michigan (2025), @ Notre Dame (2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[68019,204319,232481,399,398,396,397,99,7813],"class_list":["post-512859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-2026-nfl-draft-profiles","tag-bishop-fitzgerald","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-sports","tag-usc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}