Last winter Notre Dame landed it's first recruit in the class of 2020 in three star Forward Elijah Taylor. The Philadelphia native chose Notre Dame over schools such as Dayton, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Georgia. Maybe this wasn't as exciting to some Irish as landing a four or five star recruit but Taylor is a really good pickup for the Irish especially with the departure of John Mooney. Notre Dame's starting big men are all but set in Nate Laszewski and Juwan Durham, but Taylor can add a dimension to the team that the Irish lack and that is his physicality. The 6'7, 231 pound Freshman is a bruiser down low and is going to do the dirty work down low which the Irish could use after losing their best low post threat and rebounder in John Mooney.
When looking at Taylor's height of 6'7 and his skillset which is one of an inside threat it begs the question of how he will fit into the Notre Dame offense which is typically a 4 out1 in where there are 4 guards/wings and one center or forward down low. Taylor is in a bit of a weird spot to fit into Brey's offense but so was Bonzie Colson who is only 6'6 and has similar offensive characteristics to Taylor. Even though Colson was a bit undersized at the 4 he was still able to fit what the Irish were trying to do offensively and was even the focal point of the offense towards the end of his career. Unlike Colson, Taylor may not project as a guy who will be the number one option on offense because of all the talent that will be surrounding him over the next few years but the freshman possesses a nice face up game which he used a lot in high school along with a nice mid range jumpshot that he can take out of the post, he also seemed to be taking a lot of pick and pop threes in his senior season which is a really underrated part of his game and something we could see at Notre Dame especially later in his career. Overall offensively Taylor provides a nice change in style for the Irish who rely heavily on the three ball and may not have a guy as physical as him down low.
Outside of Taylor's offensive ability he is another one of those guys who has the ability to effect the game in many ways outside of his scoring. The Philadelphia native described himself to us as "a physical spark" and he also added that when watching him play "You will see that kid plays with his heart and soul on the floor." A lot of times last year the Irish needed a spark and with the absence of Robby Carmody for the majority of the season that was hard to come by at times and with Taylor the Irish will be getting that. It dosen't seem like Taylor will ever be a guy who we have to question if he is trying his hardest.
Off the Court Taylor is someone who head coach Mike Brey described as "a glowing personality". The freshmen has already been seen giving back to the South Bend community over zoom and it seems that will continue. It seems as if Brey and the staff landed another high character guy.
Taylor is an old school bruiser kind of player who could provide value in a multitude of ways for the Irish this season. The Philadelphia native should get some playing time this year and make for a nice new dimension to the team for now as he develops the rest of his game and adjusts to the college level. There is a lot to be excited about this season and Taylor should be a big part of that excitement.
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