2025 four-star safety Ivan Taylor commits to Notre Dame football
Notre Dame’s hot streak in the 2025 class continued Friday, as Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange safety Ivan Taylor publicly announced his verbal commitment to the Fighting Irish.
The four-star prospect visited South Bend four times — twice over the summer and twice for fall game day trips — and picked the Fighting Irish over offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, USC and many others.
“My religion is Catholic, so that’s perfect here,” Taylor told Blue & Gold about picking Notre Dame before announcing the news. “I love the coaches here. And the academics is one of the main reasons as well. If something were to go wrong on the field, I know that Notre Dame carries a huge name. You can make great money from getting a degree here. The off-field benefits are great.”
Taylor ranks as the nation’s No. 98 overall prospect and the No. 10 safety according to the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking.
He becomes Notre Dame’s 10th commitment in the 2025 class and second defensive back, joining Phoenix Brophy Prep’s Cree Thomas, who committed to the Irish just a couple weeks ago.
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.
Taylor goes in depth on Notre Dame commitment
While Taylor waited until the first day of December to make his college decision known, he actually committed to the staff privately Oct. 28, which is the day that the Irish beat up on Pittsburgh. It was also a day that Taylor was on campus.
“There was a lot of prayer that went into it,” Taylor said. “I felt that it was the right time to tell [the Notre Dame coaches] in person. I’m super excited about it. I can’t wait the next few years there.”
The first Irish staffer that learned about Taylor’s commitment was director of recruiting Chad Bowden, who kept the secret so that the first time head coach Marcus Freeman heard about it, it could from Taylor.
Taylor and his parents met with Freeman before the game to deliver the news, and then they also informed safeties coach Chris O’Leary.
“I told [Freeman] that I wanted to commit, and the love and excitement I got from Coach Freeman, Coach O’Leary and Chad — I was smiling so much that my face was hurting. It was a great moment and experience. When I get up here, I know what I have to do. I’m going to lock in.
“They were pumped. They might have been even more excited than I was! I can’t wait to come here and get to work.”
His mother, Danielle, and his father, Ike, certainly signed off on his decision, too.
“My parents knew I was going to make the right decision because they have trust in me, and I have trust in them,” said Taylor. “Of course, I wanted to know how they felt about Notre Dame, and they felt great about it.”
Taylor has a message for Notre Dame fans about what their favorite program is getting in him.
“I’m going to work very hard,” he said. “I put a lot of time in. Someone could be better or more athletic than me, but I’m going to outwork them.”
