Instant Reaction | Notre Dame Lands Isaiah Pryor
Whenever a player finds himself in the transfer portal, there’s a good reason for it. It differs on a case by case basis, but for new Notre Dame safety Isaiah Pryor, it seems pretty clear that could use a fresh start on the field at a place other than Ohio State.
A former top-100 recruit, Pryor checks the boxes as an athlete who can play as a deep safety at a high-level. He wasn’t doing that at Ohio State, though, at least not when he got his chance to emerge as a starter in 2018.
He was one of many second and third level players who struggled for the Buckeyes last season. His tackle attempt against Rondale Moore in the Purdue game is one of those plays that sticks with people. Fair or not, I’m sure Ohio State fans will remember him for that more than anything else.
He took some poor angles as a tackler, didn’t track the ball as well as you’d like to see, and overall didn’t play at a level where he was able to keep his starting job. That’s why he was in the portal and looking for another opportunity somewhere.
That doesn’t sound promising, but here’s why Notre Dame fans should be excited about his potential over the next two years.
Despite those issues, he still had some ball production with five pass breakups and an interception last season. He can find the ball and that’s not something every safety can do. Everyone knows that Irish have had some safeties over the last decaded who consistently struggled to do so.
Even though he wasn’t starting this season, he made an impact on special teams and will help there for Notre Dame regardless of what happens with him at safety. His teammate, Jordan Fuller, who was starting in front of Pryor, had a lot of great things to say about Pryor’s ability as well.
“I think he’s in the best position for him to succeed,” Fuller said. “He's very instinctual in terms of like, tracking a ball carrier down. That is Isaiah’s thing. He's very good at that. When the ball is in the air, he can cover so much ground. So just being in that middle safety position, that’s great for Isaiah. I think that’s the perfect position for him. That’s also why I say that if I win that middle safety job, I don’t want to stay there the whole time, because I want him playing, too.”
The main reason why people should be excited about Pryor is that he’ll get to work with Terry Joseph, who helped turn around the career of Jalen Elliott at Notre Dame. Elliott looked like a lost cause to some as a sophomore and then became a very productive player for Notre Dame after Joseph arrived as his coach.
Pryor wasn’t helped by the fact that he had three position coaches in three seasons at Ohio State. Hopefully some stability at Notre Dame will help him reach his ceiling as a player.
Based on what I’ve seen from him at Ohio State, no one should expect an instant impact defender. But the potential is there for him to become one. We’ll see if Joseph and Clark Lea can help Pryor get there.