Notre Dame freshman safety Tae Johnson has athleticism, resolve to ascend - InsideNDSports: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football & Basketball Recruiting

Published Jun 23, 2024

Notre Dame freshman safety Tae Johnson has athleticism, resolve to ascend

Eric Hansen • InsideNDSports

Publisher

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The last time Notre Dame freshman safety Tae Johnson played a heavy dose of that position was three years ago as a sophomore at Fort Wayne (Ind.) North High.

That along with a broken foot that delayed his senior season, a torn labrum in his left shoulder that truncated it after four games, his team’s need for him to play quarterback when he did actually play, and the fact that wide receiver was the position he earned all-state honors at during a healthy junior year scream “project” when it comes to his college football future.

So does the lack of an obvious path to playing time at a position that suddenly became crowded with ascending players in the spring.

His breathtaking athleticism and a mindset that pairs with it perfectly says otherwise.

Meet ND football’s ultimate in summer wildcards.

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A 6-foot-2, 175-pound safety with length and cornerback speed (state track finalist in the 4x100 relay and long jump) and the overall athletic prowess to be an Indiana Junior All-Star in basketball good enough to get former Irish hoops coach Mike Brey’s attention, Johnson takes Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman’s “choose hard” mantra to another echelon.

Be ready for anything.

“If I have to redshirt or be thrown right in the fire or — God forbid — if I get hurt again, whatever the case is, I’ll be ready for anything from so much adversity this past year already,” Johnson said Thursday roughly two weeks into his Notre Dame freshman-year journey as a June enrollee.

And that includes being perseverant in situations off the field as well.

“So many doubts, so many negative things that could play a part in somebody’s (life),” he said. “A lot of negative things, a lot of negative influences. That’s the adversity [I’ve had] other than football.”

And at least one shining beacon that’s been in his corner for years — former Notre Dame All-America linebacker Jaylon Smith, another Fort Wayne product.

“He was friends with our head coach, Ben Johnson [Jr.], so we connected around my sophomore year,” Tae Johnson said of the 29-year-old Smith, who overcame a career-threatening knee injury in his final game at ND to play in the NFL. “It wasn’t about college but it was him telling me to keep working hard. As I got deeper into my recruitment and Notre Dame, that’s when our relationship grew closer.

“Before I wanted to drop my Top 10, he took me out to dinner and we talked about everything from how I wanted it to be in college to my end goal. He’s like a big brother to me, a mentor to me with everything. I know Tyler Eifert, Drue Tranquill. I’m familiar with all of those guys for sure, but Jaylon Smith is one I could talk to every day.”

And they still talk.

One of the more recent likely topics of conversation is that Johnson was finally cleared from his labrum surgery, just one week before he enrolled and started classes on June 10.

He’s already boosted his listed weight upon arrival from 175 to 181 pounds with a goal of being 195 when the Irish open the 2024 season, likely as a preseason Top 10 team, Aug. 31 at Texas A&M.

Special teams is likely an early role he could snag. The rotation at safety is a bit more of a challenge, with All-American Xavier Watts returning and likely to be paired with June-arriving Northwestern grad transfer Rod Heard II as the starters.

Meanwhile, two of the most improved players at any position in the spring are sophomores Adon Shuler and Luke Talich, likely at the very least to be rotational players in the position group come fall.

Sophomore Ben Minich and fellow freshman Taebron Bennie-Powell and Kennedy Urlacher are also parts of the depth piece.

A more direct path to early snaps could open up if Johnson adapts to the nickel position, at which he’s cross-training. Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark is the clear No. 1 option there, but the spring transfers out of Clarence Lewis (Syracuse) and Micah Bell (Vanderbilt) opened up the chance for a newcomer to chase the backup role.

“I want to learn as much as I can from the older guys, to get stronger, and to try to give myself the best chance to get on the field this year,” Johnson said. “Getting stronger and growing my technique.

“The best thing for me is having all the resources I need with the weight program, the coaches around me, the mentors we have. It’s a resource for everything we need, and I feel like I didn’t have a lot of those resources in high school or growing up that would’ve helped me get a better start here. But I have all of them now.”

And the resolve to make the most of them.

“I feel like I’ve settled in pretty good,” he said. “My first impression is that it’s business now. You can’t really mess around. You have to be about your business, and it’s detail-oriented now, for sure.

“The smallest details matter. At a college level it’s all about the small things you do. That’s really my focus, the small things that matter to coaches and matter to the team.”