Notre Dame Commit Ivan Taylor Is Excited To Be Back On Campus

When 2025 Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange safety Ivan Taylor committed to Notre Dame back in December, it was viewed as a massive victory for the Irish. Notre Dame attraced one of the best safety recruits in recent memory for the Irish. The relationships with the coaches, faith and trust had all led the Florida standout to that moment.

When former safeties coach Chris O’Leary left for the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this offseason, one of those pillars had been compromised. Naturally people began speculating and wondering how strong Taylor’s commitment was. At the time, and throughout the process, Taylor has made it known that his commitment is firm.

Taylor is back on campus today, which marks his first visit since the coaching change. He is looking forward to get back to his future home, and see all the coaches in action during the spring practice.

"I’m so excited to get back to campus,” Taylor told Irish Breakdown. "We are all really anxious to get back and be able to see the team in action. It’s going to be great to see everyone live, and see how the coaches teach. It should be a great visit.”

That includes Mike Mickens, who is now in charge of the whole secondary. Along with Al Golden, those two have been the main points of contact for Taylor since the transition happened. So far, all sides are getting comfortable with one another and growing a strong bond.

"Things have been good with the coaches,” Taylor explained. "I’ve been talking with Coach Mickens a lot. We are really taking our relationship day by day. It’s constantly evolving. It’s the same with Coach Golden. They both have been great to get to know on a deeper level and am excited to see them again in person.

"Coach Mickens is obviously a great coach,” Taylor continued. "He has had guys that have gone in the first and second round, and that’s going to continue. He’s laid out his vision for the secondary and I’m excited to see how it all looks on Saturday. It feels like everyone is really excited.”

Even now, Taylor is very open about the difficulty that Coach O’Leary leaving had on him. Through that difficult time, he leaned on his family, faith, and his future teammates.

"After Coach O’Leary left, I had a conversation with Ethan (Long) about everything going on,” he explained. "We told each other that we are going to stick with Notre Dame and let it all play out. We obviously committed to the program for a lot of reasons and I have trust in this coaching staff to make the right decisions.

"Everything with the other commits had been great,” Taylor added. "We have a group chat and communicate constantly, daily. I don’t usually talk as much as some of the guys but I just like to sit back and see what everyone is up to. It’s a really funny group of guys. The chat is always fun.”

Heading into the visit, it appears that the Notre Dame staff has done everything it can to make Taylor feel comfortable and firm in his decision. Getting him back on campus is huge for everyone. After a successful visit, any anxiousness from Irish fans should be quieted.

Taylor is considered a consensus four-star by every major recruiting platform. He is ranked as a top 40 national recruit by both 247Sports (No. 40) and ESPN (No. 35). Both of those outlets rank Taylor as a top five safety in the class.

The 6-0, 170-pound safety finished his junior season with 65 total tackles, five tackles for loss, half a sack, three interceptions and eight pass breakups despite playing just nine games.

Taylor has forced a ton of turnovers as a junior. In nine games, the talented defender has intercepted three passes and three forced fumbles. Taylor has also broken up another pass as well, on top of recording 50 total tackles and six tackles for loss. Disruption is the name of his game.