Four-star safety Ivan Taylor, the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, has flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Michigan for the Class of 2025.
Taylor, the No. 54 prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, originally committed to the Fighting Irish in December over Florida State, USC, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. Taylor continued to take recruiting trips, including official visits to Alabama and Michigan in June, before announcing his intention to sign with Michigan instead of Notre Dame.
Advertisement
Taylor was the No. 2 prospect in Notre Dame’s class, ranking behind only quarterback Deuce Knight in the composite rankings. He’s the No. 2 prospect in Michigan’s class as well behind defensive end Nate Marshall, the No. 43 prospect.
Taylor attends West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Fla., where he had 50 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception last season. His father played for the Steelers from 2003 to 2014 and was a starter in three Super Bowls.
BREAKING: Four-Star Safety Ivan Taylor has Flipped his Commitment from Notre Dame to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’0 180 S from Winter Garden, FL had been Committed to the Fighting Irish since December
Is the son of former NFL CB & 2x Super Bowl Champion Ike… pic.twitter.com/Kz8VH3u6pt
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 8, 2024
How Taylor impacts Michigan’s class
This recruiting win has double significance for the Wolverines, who landed one of their top defensive targets while snatching a player away from one of their rivals. Michigan and Notre Dame go head-to-head in recruiting quite frequently, and both programs were in the hunt for JaDon Blair, a four-star safety from Winston Salem, N.C., who committed to Notre Dame last week. Michigan got even this week by flipping Taylor, one of the top athletes in the country at his position. The Wolverines also have a commitment from top-100 prospect Kainoa Winston, but with Winston’s ability to play nickel, there’s a clear role for Taylor in the class as a safety.
Though Michigan’s class is still on the smaller side, the top of the class continues to get stronger. The Wolverines have commitments from three players in the top 100 of the composite rankings after signing one top-100 player last cycle and none in the Class of 2023. Taylor’s commitment is another win for new defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan, who helped the Wolverines land Winston and four players from the transfer portal. Cornerback is still a need for Michigan in this class, but the future of the secondary looks strong. — Austin Meek, Michigan beat writer
Advertisement
What does losing Taylor mean for Notre Dame?
As well as Notre Dame has recruited to protect itself against losing Taylor, his departure is still a massive blow to the Irish class. If he wasn’t the best prospect in Notre Dame’s haul, he was at least in the top five. It felt like the Irish should have or could have held onto the Florida prospect considering the Pittsburgh Steelers connections around Notre Dame, with the sons of Plaxico Burress and Jerome Bettis committed, plus the son of Ryan Clark on the roster.
Instead, Notre Dame lost Taylor to the worst possible rival in Michigan. The commitment of Blair last week helps soften the blow, with the Irish still owning commitments from three top-200 defensive backs for the first time in the 247Sports rankings era. It’s just that Notre Dame had four committed before Taylor’s flip. In the race to close the gap with Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia in terms of raw talent, holding onto prospects as good as Taylor is a must. Notre Dame didn’t, even if it still has plenty of blue-chip talent on the board.
If Notre Dame decides it needs another safety in its class, look for the Irish to move on Brandon Logan from Fort Wayne, who’s currently committed to Vanderbilt baseball. — Pete Sampson, Notre Dame beat writer
Required reading
- Michigan football’s big recruiting week: Wolverines add key players to 2025 class
- How Notre Dame became the perfect fit for rising star Florida QB recruit Noah Grubbs
(Photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)