2024 safety Taebron Bennie-Powell commits to Notre Dame football

Notre Dame has picked up a summertime safety commitment from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West High for the second straight year. On Wednesday, 2024 three-star safety Taebron Bennie-Powell — also known as “BP” — announced his pledge in favor of the Fighting Irish.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound BP’s pledge comes after he picked up a Notre Dame scholarship offer at ND’s Evaluation Camp I last Thursday. Bennie-Powell chose the Irish over Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and West Virginia offers.

Bennie-Powell followed in the footsteps of former Lakota West safety Ben Minich, who verbally committed to Notre Dame last August. After he competed in a June camp session, the 5-11 ⅞, 190-pound Minich also earned his offer.

Minich signed with the Irish in December, enrolled in January and finished the 2023 recruiting cycle as the No. 304 overall player, No. 27 safety and No. 9 prospect in Ohio, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He also played a pivotal role in sparking Bennie-Powell’s initial interest in Notre Dame and eventual commitment.

“Ben was definitely a factor in this,” Bennie-Powell told Blue & Gold before making his commitment public. “He helped me out a lot with choosing Notre Dame. He’s been through that entire process. So it was just easy for me to look up to him.” 

Because the Lakota West defense featured two of the country’s best safeties in Minich and Ohio State signee Malik Hartford — a top 250 recruit with a Notre Dame offer — Bennie-Powell played out of position at linebacker.

BP had 36 total tackles (26 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 13 games as a junior. He’ll transition to strong safety for his senior season. 

Bennie-Powell is the No. 1,200 overall player, No. 67 athlete and No. 50 prospect in Ohio, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. In On3’s own rankings, he’s the No. 77 athlete and No. 61 prospect in Ohio. His On3 NIL Valuation annual value is $13,200. 

He is the second safety commit in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Chandler (Ariz.) High three-star safety Kennedy Urlacher committed to Notre Dame on May 1. The 6-1, 180-pound Urlacher is the No. 596 overall player, No. 60 safety and No. 11 prospect in Arizona, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He has an 87.94 rating.

More from BP on his Notre Dame commitment 

Entering last Thursday’s camp, Bennie-Powell knew it would be hard to pass up on an Irish offer. Still, the coaching staff treated him like a must-get prospect.

After he camped at Notre Dame, he went on a campus tour. Some coaches were “on him” to commit during it. But head coach Marcus Freeman ensured Bennie-Powell understood he could be patient with the process and commit whenever he felt comfortable. 

As it turned out, Bennie-Powell only needed less than 24 hours. He slept on his eventual decision and committed to Freeman over the phone the next morning.

“I told him I was ready,” said Bennie-Powell, recalling his conversation with the second-year Irish coach. “(Freeman) said he was excited. He was excited for me and the program. He actually made sure that I was 100% committed. His reaction was what I wanted to hear.” 

Even though his commitment came together quickly, Bennie-Powell has confidence he made the right decision. And that’s a credit to the job done by Freeman, safeties coach Chris O’Leary and director of recruiting Chad Bowden. 

“I just love the coaches,” Bennie-Powell said. “(Monday) they called me while I was at work. They saw me in my Popeyes stuff, and they were just laughing and everything. So I already know it’s a family there.

“Two, the campus is nice. Three, I’m very religious, and (ND’s) whole campus reflects that. So that’s one of the main reasons why I liked Notre Dame.” 

Next month, Bennie-Powell plans to return to Notre Dame on an unofficial college recruiting visit. He will also be back in South Bend for an official visit on Sept. 23 for the Ohio State game. 

In the meantime, Bennie-Powell knows other programs will continue to recruit him. After he announced his Irish offer, a Southern California coaching staff member followed him on Twitter. There is always a chance that in-state school Ohio State could join his recruitment too. 

But no matter what team might try to poach BP moving forward, he’s adamant that he is locked in with the Irish and ready to reunite with Minich. 

“I’m super excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to get up there and become a family.”