BIG FLIP: Alabama receives commitment from Top 100 safety Ivan Taylor
Ivan Taylor, Top 100 safety from West Orange High School in Winter Park, Florida, has flipped his commitment from Michigan to Alabama. The long-time priority target is a massive addition for the Crimson Tide with close to three weeks remaining until the Early Signing Period. He is the only safety currently in Alabama’s class.
Taylor flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Michigan in July. He quietly visited Alabama during the spring, as a Fighting Irish commitment. He retuned to Tuscaloosa for an official visit in June, and all the momentum seemed to shift in the Tide’s favor. Taylor, however, took an official to Michigan after the visit to the Capstone. The Wolverines moved to the front of the pack before his flip.
The son of former Pittsburgh Steeler cornerback, and two-time Super Bowl winner, Ike Taylor, remained in contact with Alabama after his summer decision. He attended the Alabama-UGA game on September 28. There was strong belief Alabama had a chance to steal him away from the Wolverines. The subpar season in Ann Arbor also didn’t hurt the Tide’s chances for a flip.
“Just the fit,” Taylor told On3 Sports regarding his decision. “I think I’ll be a better fit there. There’s really nothing else to it. The coaches, the environment.”
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There were several factors in Taylor’s decision to side with Alabama as his future home, and where he will sign financial aid agreement on December 4. Coach Kalen DeBoer, general manager Courtney Morgan, safeties coach Colin Hitschler and the recruiting staff. Taylor had a lot of praise for his future head coach.
“I feel like I have a great relationship with Coach DeBoer,” he told BOL in a recent interview. “I feel like he’s a players’ coach, an ultimate players’ coach. You can tell on the sideline in critical games, he wants to make sure they get the win. That everyone is locked in. He’s going to fight for his guys. I think it was a good switch from Saban to Coach DeBoer because you can see the transition of the players; they’re getting used to him, and now they’re really starting to get into their role.”
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