© Tank King
Texas Linebacker Tank King Has "Amazing" Experience During Notre Dame Visit
Texas Linebacker Tank King Has "Amazing" Experience During Notre Dame Visit
Notre Dame hosted a number of talented prospects during its Blue-Gold Game, and that list included Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial star linebacker TaiYion “Tank” King. The talented 2026 defender made his first trip to Notre Dame after being a part of the Pot of Gold offer push back in March. The Texas standout has continued to sing nothing but praises for the Irish staff. That remained true on his first visit to South Bend.
"The visit overall was amazing,” King told Irish Breakdown. "My favorite parts were getting to know the coaching staff and what it means to be a part of the Notre Dame family and tradition.”
King had the chance to check out a lot during the visit, including the game, campus and athletic facilities. A big element of this visit was also getting to develop deeper relationships with the Notre Dame coaches. There were several members of the staff who really impressed King, starting with head coach Marcus Freeman.
"Coach Freeman is a great coach and we talked about what the Notre Dame football program stands for,” said King. "He then talked about the direction it’s moving to and how good of a direction that is.”
Then there was defensive coordinator Al Golden, who King sees as an experienced coach who has full command of the defense. He was able to gain a lot from his wisdom.
"Coach Golden has so much experience and in the short time talking to him,” King stated. "I learned a lot about the little things that I am going to take back and use going forward in how I play defense. He made me see defense in a new way and I can appreciate it all.”
Last, but certainly not least, King got some quality time with linebackers coach Max Bullough. The two found common ground, bonding over their mindsets and deep love for the position.
"Coach Max is a great linebacker coach,” King explained. "He played linebacker and it’s always good to be taught by someone that played that position because they know what to look for and how to help you go to the next level.”
Heading into the visit, King had a high opinion of the Notre Dame program. Leaving it, that opinion is on a completely new level.
"Notre Dame is a school that has a name that stands alone, and leaving shows that it’s more than just the name,” he explained. "It’s a culture, and the atmosphere is like no other. I see myself fitting at the school because it’s small and fitting in the program because the staff wants to teach and wants players that want to win and make it to the next level, but also want to win in the classroom.”
More importantly, King leaves the trip with a clear sense of his fit with the Irish. He can absolutely see himself sporting the Blue and Gold.
"I think I would fit in the way they run their defense and the way they play their linebackers because of how fast I can learn their plays and how determined I am to be a part of the program,” he said. "Their pitch is to come be part of something that is nowhere like it in the county.”
King has been putting together quite the offer list so far. Some of the premier programs who have extended offers to date include the Fighting Irish, Texas, Florida, Penn State, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Washington, Missouri, Arizona, Texas Tech, UCF, Houston, Baylor and SMU among others.
The 6-0, 195-pound linebacker is well regarded from a recruiting ranking perspective so far. He is ranked as a four-star and a top 100 overall player by both On3 and Rivals, sitting at No. 70 and No. 98 overall respectively. King is rated as the No. 8 player from the state of Texas on the On3 Industry ranking, which is an area that Notre Dame has prioritized in recent recruiting classes.
During a dynamic sophomore campaign for Memorial, King finished with 138 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss and eight sacks. King also recovered a fumble and broke up three passes.
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