Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2023 35 FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY KYLE KELLY The Notre Dame football program secured its second in-state commit- ment June 24 when four-star safety Tae Johnson from Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side announced his verbal pledge to the Fighting Irish. Johnson revealed his decision after officially visiting Notre Dame from June 4-6. It was the seventh time the four-star recruit had made the trip to South Bend during his college recruit- ment and the first time since January. Before he left, he gave head coach Mar- cus Freeman a private commitment. "The moment was when I got there, and after not seeing them for so long, they still had the same energy," Johnson told Blue & Gold Illustrated before mak- ing his commitment public, describing when he knew he wanted to be a part of the Irish. "It was the same message after not talking to them in so long." The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Johnson is the third safety to commit to the Irish in the 2024 recruiting cycle. On May 1, three-star Kennedy Urlacher from Chan- dler (Ariz.) High pledged to the Irish. Fel- low three-star recruit Taebron Bennie- Powell from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West joined the class June 21. Johnson is the highest ranked of the three recruits. On3 lists Johnson as the No. 4 prospect in Indiana, and the No. 8 athlete and No. 293 overall player in the nation. Urlacher is On3's No. 14 pros- pect in Arizona and the No. 67 safety nationally, while Bennie-Powell is its No. 34 recruit in Ohio and No. 22 athlete in America. Notre Dame was the only program to offer Johnson as a safety. The other 17 Power Five programs to offer him a schol- arship preferred him as a wide receiver. In 10 games last season for North Side, Johnson had 23 tackles, 21 of which were solo. He also caught 69 passes for 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns. Irish safeties coach Chris O'Leary offered Johnson after he participated in the 2022 Irish Invasion camp June 5. He unofficially visited Notre Dame four times after that — with his father June 19, for Notre Dame's 2024 class cookout July 26, the Clemson game Nov. 5 and junior day event Jan. 14. Johnson's first trip to Notre Dame as a college football recruit was during the 2021 regular season against Georgia Tech Nov. 20. In addition to the Irish, Johnson also reported visits to Purdue (three), Ten- nessee (two), Michigan State, Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and USF. He also visited Ohio State three times, except the Buck- eyes never offered him a scholarship. Now that his recruitment is in the rear- view mirror, Johnson is pleased to call himself a member of the Fighting Irish. "It really took a load off me, honestly," he said. "The long process of it. It was a relief to know I'll attend Notre Dame for the next four years. Everybody who has gone there from Fort Wayne has had great success on and off the field. "I'm pretty happy just to know I will be a part of that. I'm excited about my future and how I can change the trajec- tory of my family." ✦ In-State Four-Star Athlete Goes The Safety Route With Irish FILM ANALYSIS "Tae Johnson is a versatile athlete we view as a legitimate prospect at receiver and safety. He's a very productive player at the high school level. He has good size and solid length. … His skill set as a player is well rounded. I do think that safety is his best position long term. He'll need to work on tackling and the intricacies of playing defense. From a coverage perspective, he can do it based on what I've seen from him in the camp setting. "Also worth noting is that he has good meat on the bone developmentally. He's not anywhere near a finished product physically. He'll benefit from Notre Dame's strength program, which is one of the best in the country. In a couple of years, he could look a lot different. I'm interested to see what he looks like down the line, but I do agree that defense is his best long-term projection. "It's always notable when Notre Dame lands a player from its state. They've had some really good players from Indiana pan out and be top draft picks." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power COMMITMENT PROFILE TAE JOHNSON Every Power Five school that offered Johnson recruited him as a wide receiver except Notre Dame, which prefers him at safety. On3 lists Johnson as the No. 4 prospect in Indiana, and the No. 8 athlete and No. 293 overall player in the nation. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY "It was a relief to know I'll attend Notre Dame for the next four years. Everybody who has gone there from Fort Wayne has had great success on and off the field." JOHNSON