Pryor roving into great fit for Notre Dame

The programs had lined up for Isaiah Pryor.

Again.

A 6-foot-1.5-inch safety who first had been an Under Armour All-American coming out of high school with offers from every major program throughout the country and then had established his bona fides at powerhouse Ohio State, Pryor graduated early and looked for a new home for his final two seasons of college football.

Suitors again made their pitches; SEC teams made calls, as did his hometown team and this week's Notre Dame opponent, Georgia Tech.

Pryor wanted to maintain distance. He chose Notre Dame, and could find himself again on a College Football Playoff team as the fourth-ranked Irish (5-0, 4-0) remain knotted with top-ranked Clemson as the ACC’s only two teams without a loss.

And now Pryor's found distance again a key – closer to the line of scrimmage at the rover position, rather than safety, just might best accentuate Pryor's skill-set.

“Moving to rover has been a great experience for me,” said Pryor, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., just east of downtown Atlanta. “I played a decent amount of it in high school, actually. It's something I felt comfortable doing, going in there and playing more of like a hybrid position. Covering, blitzing, doing that type of thing and also helping out the team any way that I can.

“So when they asked me to make the move, it was no hesitation. Whatever they needed me to do, I would do it.”

What Pryor has flashed – in the Irish's 45-3 win last week at Pittsburgh, he recorded a sack, a quarterback hurry and forced a fumble – was the impetus for coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea to find more snaps for the rangy Pryor.

“Really impressed with his performance; he's long, he's sudden,” Kelly said. “Part of this process is finding a niche and a place for him. Taking Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah) off the field is not really an option. It was in this instance (at Pitt) because we were up, but we got a glimpse at what (Pryor) can do. That gets you starting to think, 'OK, where can he maybe fit situationally for us to maybe maximize what he has for us even this year?'

"That opened up a nice segue into conversations with our defensive staff as to maybe we can find a role right now for Isaiah that's more expansive than what he has."

Even before he readily embraced the position switch, Pryor proved a selfless teammate with his work on special teams, where he recorded his first tackle this season for Notre Dame.

“I was always growing up understanding how important special teams is on teams; it's a very crucial part on the team,” Pryor said. “You know it's something that can't be taken lightly because most of the time it can be the difference in winning and losing the game.

“So I take it very seriously and I try to do my hardest to make sure I get my job done and make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to do. And being a leader any way I can, even if it is on special teams.”

What's left for Pryor, especially with a year-and-a-half left on his Notre Dame career and Owusu-Koramoah's burgeoning NFL Draft stock, is to further adjust to a potentially far greater role moving forward from the rover position.

“The only thing I feel like is difficult for me, is just getting used to taking on offensive linemen coming in the gaps, that type of thing,” Pryor said. “Just fending off blocks like that.

“Other than that I feel like being in this position helps expose my attributes, as far as my speed and my length. Coming up the field, covering, things like that. And I feel like it shows a lot in practice and I'm just excited to play.”