Recent Notre Dame visit was important to elite 2025 safety Ivan Taylor
Going from Central Florida up to South Bend, Ind. isn’t the easiest trip to take, but it’s one that Ivan Taylor has taken six times now.
And his most recent trek to Notre Dame occurred April 13, and by all accounts, the class of 2025 four-star safety out of Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange loved it. There’s not much new for Taylor to see when visiting campus because he’s been up so frequently, but he had enjoyed his time talking with the staff and having various meetings.
“It was a very productive and good mental day,” Taylor told Blue & Gold.
Taylor explained what he meant by having a “mental day” during his visti.
“Going over how I can get better with Coach [Al] Golden and Coach [Mike] Mickens,” Taylor noted. “And with Coach Chad [Bowden], we talked about how I’m doing in school and what my summer classes need to look like to enroll early.”
It was Taylor’s first Notre Dame visit since news broke in February that Chris O’Leary was leaving his post as the Irish’s safeties coach to join the Los Angeles Chargers. O’Leary was a key part of Taylor’s decision to commit to Notre Dame Dec. 1, 2023, and Taylor was understandably saddened by the news, although he understood it.
But Taylor seems to going strong with his Notre Dame pledge. He went into his April visit wanting to get a feel on how things are at ND without O’Leary.
“Yes, it was very important for me to see how it was,” Taylor noted. “I still got the same feeling from the Coach Mickens. I wasn’t there for the practice because we ran late a bit, but I saw practice from the film, and I saw what they’re doing in their drills.”
Notre Dame doesn’t operate with just one or two coaches being involved with a prospect. It’s an entire staff effort. So, when a position coach leaves, a prospect such as Taylor still has several other strong relationships on the staff.
“I had great conversations with them,” continued Taylor, speaking about the ND staff. “It’s always nice to talk to Coach Freeman, catch up with him and see how his family is doing. I love Chad’s energy. I got to catch up with the entire staff.”
He even had dinner with the Notre Dame staff the night of April 13, which was a memorable experience.
“We went up to the top of the stadium and ate there,” said Taylor. “It was absolutely beautiful, having a view of the entire stadium and campus.
“It was a very productive day.”
During his 10-game junior season, Taylor totaled 50 tackles (6 for loss), 1 interception and 3 forced fumbles. He’s recorded 135 tackles and 5 interceptions during his high school career.
He is also the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor. The elder Taylor played in the NFL from 2003-14 and is a two-time Super Bowl champion.
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