Four-star safety Ivan Taylor retires from Notre Dame

Four-star safety Ivan Taylor announced earlier this week that he has decommitted from Notre Dame. Taylor, a member of the 2025 recruiting class, has changed his commitment to Michigan. Taylor is among the top defensive talents in the Wolverines’ 2025 class, alongside Kainoa Washington (safety) and Nathaniel Marshall (defensive tackle).

Ivan, the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback and two-time Super Bowl winner Ike Taylor, first pledged to commit to Notre Dame in December 2023. His announcement last year kicked off a stellar sophomore class for the Irish, which includes Ethan Long and JaDon Blair, the latter of whom announced his commitment to Notre Dame just last week.

Ivan Taylor’s departure was not unexpected

Taylor is from Winter Garden, Florida, and had expressed concerns about Notre Dame after safety coach Chris O’Leary left the program for the NFL. In June, Taylor took an official visit to Alabama. The following weekend, he visited Notre Dame, and that visit was followed by a visit to Michigan. In addition to Not Dame and Michigan, Alabama, Florida State, USC, Tennessee, Florida and Penn State were among the contenders.

Taylor is the nation’s No. 41 player, according to ESPN. He is ranked 102nd in the overall ranking of Rivals and No. 120 of On 3Taylor recorded 45 tackles, six for loss, for West Orange last season. He had one interception, one pass defense and four forced fumbles.

Despite setback in recruitment still strong

Despite Taylor’s departure, Notre Dame is expected to field a strong secondary in the coming years. Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts will also hold the secondary this year. In addition to Long and Blair, the Irish can boast three talented cornerbacks in the class of 2025. These include Dallas Golden, Mark Zackery IV and Cree Thomas. These talents bring a lot of skill and potential to Notre Dame.

Losing Taylor will obviously hurt, but there is plenty of reason for optimism given the strong additions Marcus Freeman and his team have made this offseason. While the loss of Taylor is notable, the depth and quality of the 2025 class continues to underscore Freeman’s ability to attract elite talent on both sides of the ball.