Tae Johnson would still remember the moment the golden dome first came into view. The campus was hushed, and Notre Dame looked every bit the postcard he had seen on recruiting mailers, and for a while, the dream seemed complete. “I know if I go to Notre Dame, I won’t have to worry about anything,” Johnson recalled thinking at that time. “ I know that it’s a win-win for me, regardless of football and life. Me being an Indiana guy, I get to stay close and stay home.” But that impression quickly gave away to the reality of transition. The freshman safety says he felt an almost instant disconnect once he found his seat in a packed introductory class. “It’s not a community where a lot of people like me go to . Like once you once you on campus, once you in class, like it’s
Black Notre Dame Star Fights Back Tears Crediting Marcus Freeman For Changing Racial Stigma Around School Tae Johnson talks about the culture shock at Notre Dame and how the quiet support of Marcus Fr

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