2024 four-star safety Tae Johnson commits to Notre Dame football
The Notre Dame football program has secured its second in-state commitment. 2024 safety Tae Johnson from Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side announced his verbal pledge to the Fighting Irish.
Johnson revealed his decision Saturday 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 recruitment and the first time since January. Before he left, he gave head coach Marcus 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 before making his commitment public, describing when 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 recruit Kennedy Urlacher from Chanler (Ariz.) High pledged to the Irish. Fellow three-star recruit Taebron “BP” Bennie-Powell from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West joined the class on Wednesday.
Johnson is the highest-ranked of the three recruits.
The On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — evaluates Johnson as the No. 164 overall player, No. 5 athlete and No. 3 prospect in Indiana. He has a 91.96 rating.
On3 ranks Johnson as the No. 283 overall player, No. 12 athlete and No. 5 prospect in Indiana. On3 gave him a 90 rating.
Urlacher is the No. 595 overall player, No. 59 safety and No. 12 prospect in Arizona, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. On3 ranks him as the No. 63 safety. The On3 Industry Ranking has BP as the No. 898 overall player, No. 47 athlete and No. 34 prospect in Ohio. He’s the No. 77 athlete in 2024 per On3.
Johnson’s On3 NIL Valuation annual value is $93,000. That ranks No. 260 among high school football prospects.
Notre Dame zeroed in on Johnson as a safety recruit
Notre Dame was the only program to offer Johnson as a safety. The other 17 Power Five programs to offer him a scholarship preferred him as a wide receiver.
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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 on June 5. He visited Notre Dame four times after that — with his father on June 19, for ND’s 2024 class cookout on July 26, the Clemson game on Nov. 5 and junior day event on Jan. 14.
In addition to Notre Dame, Johnson also reported visits to Purdue (3), Tennessee (2), Michigan State, Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and USF. He also visited Ohio State three times, except the Buckeyes never offered him a scholarship.
Now that his recruitment is in the rearview mirror, Johnson is relieved to call himself a member of the Fighting Irish.
“It really took a relief off me, honestly,” he said. “The long process of it. It was a relief to know that I’ll be going to Notre Dame for the next four years. Everybody who has went there from Fort Wayne has had great success on and off the field.
“I’m pretty happy just to know that I will be a part of that. I’m excited for what my future holds and how I can change the trajectory of my family.”
