Tag: Ivan Taylor

Former Notre Dame commit could be on the verge of flipping once again

Hard to say this is surprising

As recruiting goes, or really anything with a teenager, they change their minds on a dime.

That’s what happened with former Notre Dame safety commit [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag]. The 6-foot, 174-pound prospect committed to the Irish on Dec. 1 last year, but kept his options open.

The nation’s 58th overall prospect, according to the 247Sports composite, took his official visits and eventually flipped his commitment to Michigan.

While it seemed like Ann Arbor would be the final destination for Taylor, that may not be the case. On Tuesday it was reported by On3’s Chad Simmons that the safety is once again contemplating a flip, this time to Alabama.

The Crimson Tide were one of three official visits Taylor took in the spring. While Notre Dame may have taken him off its recruiting board, Alabama continued to work on him.

While both Michigan and Alabama have worse records than the Irish this season, it doesn’t seem to matter to Taylor. We’ll continue to monitor what happens with his recruitment, even if he will not end up in South Bend.

West Orange High School Warriors’ Ivan Taylor watches from the sidelines at the Florida High School 7v7 Association state championship in The Villages on Friday, June 24, 2022. Paul Ryan / Correspondent

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4-star safety Ivan Taylor flips commitment from Notre Dame to Michigan

A Notre Dame commit, Ivan Taylor, has flipped to Michigan

There is more flipping when it comes to college commitments than short-order cooks with pancakes.

Another notable one happened Monday as four-star safety Ivan Taylor from Winter Garden (Fla.) flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Michigan.

“I like Coach Wink, I like Coach Morgan, and I like Coach Moore,” Taylor told The Michigan Insider. “I think they’re all great people and it was a really good time on the official visit getting to know them and getting to know their families as well.”

The son of two-time Super Bowl champ Ike Taylor had been committed to Notre Dame since December.

This development continued Michigan’s rise in 247Sports’ rankings for the class of 2025. The Wolverines started at 41 and now with Taylor are at 15.

“(Head coach Sherrone Moore) is a very genuine guy,” Taylor said. “If you ask all the staff, no one has anything bad to say about him. No one outside has said anything bad about him. You could tell he’s just a good guy. I think a lot are doubting him because of what happened last season and that he’s only done it for three games, but we’ll see this season.”

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Notre Dame football has lost its top defensive commitment, flips to Michigan

Not the best way for the Irish to start their week

The rumors were true surrounding Florida 2025 safety [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag]’s commitment to Notre Dame football and his potential to flip.

Over the weekend, multiple recruiting insiders believed that the nation’s No. 54 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings could be waning in his verbal. Their information turned out to be accurate as Taylor flipped his commitment from the Irish to Michigan on Monday afternoon.

This is a huge blow to Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class, as he was the top ranked defensive verbal of the cycle. Even with Dallas Golden and JaDon Blair still in the fold, the group loses plenty of luster with the departure of Taylor.

With it being so “late” in the recruiting calendar, it will be hard for the Irish to find a replacement of his caliber.

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Michigan football flips four-star safety from Notre Dame

Sorry Irish, he’s ours now. #GoBlue

Michigan football had long been in the JaDon Blair sweepstakes, but the four-star safety committed to rival Notre Dame. But the Wolverines may be getting the last laugh.

2025 Winter Garden (Florida) West Orange four-star safety Ivan Taylor is rated higher than Blair across the board. There’s just one little problem: He’s been committed to the Irish since December. However, Taylor officially visited Ann Arbor for Victors Weekend, and it turns out Ann Arbor was a better destination for him than South Bend.

A few weeks after his official visit, Taylor ended up flipping to the maize and blue.

Here is how Taylor ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr. Pos. St.
247Sports Composite 4 50 5 8
On3 Industry Ranking 4 58 6 8
247Sports 4 41 2 5
On3 4 132 14 21
ESPN 4 41 5 5
Rivals 4 102 11 20

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

A high-IQ safety prospect with elite NFL bloodlines and a top-flight testing profile. Measured roughly 6-foot, 170 pounds spring before junior campaign, clocking a 4.5-second effort in the 40-yard dash that day to go along with a 4.25-second short shuttle. Quick-footed with plenty of agility. Has spent most of prep career working in a two-deep system and has shown that he can get where he needs to be. Competitive at the catch point and does a nice job of turning his head to find the football. A sound open-field tackler at this stage that will launch at legs and get ball carries on the ground. However, needs to get a little bit better at getting off blocks and sifting through traffic. Will eventually need to add some mass and improve play strength, but should be viewed as a potential multi-year starter for a top 25 program. Likely to find a home at the third level of a defense, but sticky enough in man-coverage possibly warrant a look as an inside corner on Saturdays.

It’s not the first time in recent memory Michigan has flipped a safety from Notre Dame. Two years ago, Brandyn Hillman signed his letter of intent but transferred to the Wolverines — and he’s looking for an increased role in his second year with the program.

Taylor also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, USC and others.

Michigan trending to flip Notre Dame football’s top 2025 commit

Not great…

When Florida safety [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag] committed to Notre Dame football in December of last year, it looked like he was locked in to his verbal pledge.

Well, fast forward to now, and that might not exactly be the case. The 6-foot and 175-pound player took official visits to Alabama and Michigan along with one to South Bend in June.

Only one of those visits moved Taylor’s needle away from the Irish, unfortunately the one to Ann Arbor. On Sunday, the nation’s No. 50 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings was crystal balled to flip to the Wolverines by Tom Loy and Sam Webb.

To make matters worst, it wasn’t just 247Sports insiders who think that will be the case, as On3’s Steve Wiltfong did the same.

This would be a massive blow for the Irish, as Taylor is the top ranked commit in the 2025 class. Hopefully the insiders are wrong, but the potential for the flip is gaining traction.

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Michigan football gets two predictions it will flip an elite ND safety

Good news looks to be coming soon! #GoBlue

Michigan football lost out on 2025 Winston Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor four-star safety JaDon Blair, as he committed to Notre Dame last week, but the Wolverines might be getting one better.

2025 Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Ivan Taylor has been committed to the Irish since Dec. 1, 2023, but he visited Ann Arbor for Victors Weekend on June 21. And on Sunday, he got two predictions he’ll end up spurning ND for U-M.

On3’s Steve Wiltfong and EJ Holland have both put in predictions that Taylor will end up wearing maize and blue instead of blue and gold. Both have logged a 60% confidence score.

Here is how Taylor ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr. Pos. St.
247Sports Composite 4 50 5 8
On3 Industry Ranking 4 59 7 8
247Sports 4 41 2 5
On3 4 120 12 21
ESPN 4 41 5 5
Rivals 4 102 11 20

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

A high-IQ safety prospect with elite NFL bloodlines and a top-flight testing profile. Measured roughly 6-foot, 170 pounds spring before junior campaign, clocking a 4.5-second effort in the 40-yard dash that day to go along with a 4.25-second short shuttle. Quick-footed with plenty of agility. Has spent most of prep career working in a two-deep system and has shown that he can get where he needs to be. Competitive at the catch point and does a nice job of turning his head to find the football. A sound open-field tackler at this stage that will launch at legs and get ball carries on the ground. However, needs to get a little bit better at getting off blocks and sifting through traffic. Will eventually need to add some mass and improve play strength, but should be viewed as a potential multi-year starter for a top 25 program. Likely to find a home at the third level of a defense, but sticky enough in man-coverage possibly warrant a look as an inside corner on Saturdays.

Should the Wolverines land Taylor, he would be the second-highest rated commitment in the class according to the 247Sports Composite, behind only edge rusher Nathaniel Marshall, who is the No. 43 player in the country.

Notre Dame Recruits Post Epic Steelers Legacy Photo

Steelers legacies pose with fathers on latest official Notre Dame visits.

Notre Dame’s recent run of landing recruiting commitments from the sons of former NFL players has been impressive.  The sons of several former NFL stars have chosen to wear blue and gold in recent years from the likes of Kennedy Urlacher (Brian), Bryant Young, Jr., James Flanagan (Jim), and several others.

There are three players currently committed in the 2025 recruiting class that don’t only each have fathers that played in the NFL, but fathers that specifically starred for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Those three posed together over the weekend, along with their fathers for a truly epic photo of the old guard and new.

[autotag]Elijah Burress[/autotag] posted the photo as he sits on the left side, in front of his dad Plaxico.  [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag], Notre Dame‘s top-ranked recruit currently in the 2025 class sits in front of his dad Ike Taylor.  And on the right side is of course [autotag]Jerome Bettis, Jr[/autotag]. seated in front of his Pro Football Hall of Fame father, Jerome, Sr.

Happy Father’s Day, in blue and gold or black and yellow, indeed.

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Notre Dame’s top 2025 commit will take a visit to Alabama this weekend

Not great news for the Irish

As the saying with many recruits go, it’s not over until their signature is on the letter of intent and it has been faxed over.

It’s been very common to see players flip from one school to another, and Notre Dame football is in the midst of trying to prevent that. It’s highest rated 2025 commit, Florida safety [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag] is set to take a visit to Alabama this weekend according to Rivals Adam Gorney.

The Irish coaching staff can’t be happy about this visit, but this is fairly normal in recruiting in this era of college football. There will most likely be more schools that pop up trying to flip Taylor in the future as well.

Hopefully the visit just confirms what Taylor thought all along, that Notre Dame is the place for him.

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Meet Notre Dame’s Top Ranked 2025 Recruiting Class

What must the Irish still add to make this class great?

It’s early in the 2025 recruiting cycle still but recruiting for Notre Dame tends to play out a lot like a quote from New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra:

“It’s getting late early out there.”

When it comes to football recruiting Notre Dame is a team that tends to start hot and then usually have to hold on to secure a high ranking.  They’re rarely if ever a program that soars up the rankings late in the process.

That’s why it’s so important that Notre Dame gets off to hot starts in recruiting and that is something they’ve certainly done to date with the 2025 recruiting class.

Notre Dame now has 16 commitments in the class which gives them the top ranking according to both 247Sports and Rivals.

Below are the currently committed 16 members of Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class and a little about each player.

Please note: Prospects are listed according to their public commitment dates

Notre Dame trending to add 2025 North Carolina safety

The Irish look to continue to add to their No. 1 ranked 2025 class

If you didn’t know, Notre Dame 2025 safety target [autotag]JaDon Blair[/autotag] will make an official visit to South Bend in early June.

While that is great news, there is even better. 247Sports Irish insider Tom Loy logged a crystal ball pick for Notre Dame to eventually land the 6-foot, 4-inch and 190-pound safety. It’s the only current selection in his recruitment.

Blair fits the mold of prospects that the Irish go after at the position: long, and athletic. He also happens to be one of the best players in the country, ranking as the No. 13 safety and 147th overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Notre Dame currently has [autotag]Ivan Taylor[/autotag] and [autotag]Ethan Long[/autotag] committed at the position, but would welcome in Blair with open arms.

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