Former Ohio State safety Isaiah Pryor is transferring to Notre Dame, according to a report by 247Sports' Tom Loy.
Pryor's commitment to Notre Dame comes after he visited South Bend for the Fighting Irish's game against Virginia Tech this weekend.
It's a family affair at #NotreDame this weekend for Ohio State graduate transfer Isaiah Pryor. pic.twitter.com/IHOPaDHLrx
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) November 2, 2019
Pryor, who opted to transfer from Ohio State after the Buckeyes' first four games of this season, will bring two remaining years of eligibility to Notre Dame.
A four-star recruit in the class of 2017, Pryor started seven of Ohio State's first eight games at safety in 2018. After struggling in most of his playing time on defense last year, however, Pryor finished the 2018 season as a backup and remained a backup for the first four games of this year.
With only one safety seeing regular playing time in Ohio State's new defensive scheme, Pryor was stuck behind Jordan Fuller on this year's depth chart, and with Josh Proctor seemingly on track to replace Fuller in the starting lineup next season, Pryor faced the possibility of never having another opportunity to start for the Buckeyes.
Because he only played in four games for the Buckeyes this year, Pryor is able to take a redshirt this season and will start his Notre Dame career in 2020 as a redshirt junior. He is expected to graduate from Ohio State before enrolling at Notre Dame, which will make him immediately eligible to play next season.
According to Loy's report, Notre Dame safeties coach Terry Joseph was the first to reach out to Pryor following his decision to enter the transfer portal in September, and he "played a big role in eventually landing Pryor’s commitment." Pryor was previously recruited by Joseph as a high school prospect, when Joseph was the defensive backs coach at Texas A&M, and Notre Dame was also among the schools who recruited Pryor before he ultimately chose to attend Ohio State.
