During this past offseason, 2025 Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange star safety Ivan Taylor camped at Notre Dame. With his overall performance, the Florida standout earned an offer from the Irish. Over the weekend, Taylor once again returned to South Bend for the third time as Notre Dame took on the Pitt Panthers.
Taylor, the son of former Pittsburgh Steeler cornerback Ike Taylor, has become an absolute priority for the Irish staff since being offered this summer. He went into the recent visit high on the staff, and left with even higher opinions of the program.
"It was a really fun visit overall,” Taylor told Irish Breakdown. "My favorite parts were probably the player walk and talking to all of the coaches. It was such a great atmosphere on campus.”
This visit also offered Taylor the chance to see the Notre Dame coaches again. The relationships he has developed with them can be described as easy and authentic. It was a tremendous chance to see them all.
"Seeing the coaches again was honestly a great time,” Taylor explained. "I feel like I connected with them really well. They are always just so easy to talk with. It’s not just about football either. It’s about every part of life.”
Then the game happened. Seeing the atmosphere, witnessing the action and seeing the final result really capped off the weekend.
"The energy all around the campus was great,” he explained. "The stadium during the game was electric. You can tell that the fans really love the team.”
As of now, Taylor is planning on making a college decision this offseason. Coming down the stretch, it appears that Notre Dame is the team to beat. They have clearly sold the vision to him thus far.
"I could see myself fitting in the program without a doubt. It’s really an easy fit.”
Taylor is already a consensus four-star by every major recruiting platform. He is ranked as a top 40 national recruit by both 247Sports (No. 38) and ESPN (No. 31). Both of those outlets rank Taylor as a top five safety in the class.
The 6-0, 170-pound safety is being courted by some of the top prospects in all of college football. Taylor currently holds offers from the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Michigan, USC, Penn State, Florida, Tennessee, Florida State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Pittsburgh among several others.
In only nine games as a sophomore, Taylor made his full impact on the back end. He finished the season with 65 total tackles, five tackles for loss, half a sack, three interceptions and eight pass breakups.
Taylor has forced a ton of turnovers as a junior. In eight games, the talented defender has intercepted three passes and forced six fumbles. Taylor has also broken up another pass as well. Disruption is the name of his game.
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