Notre Dame continues push for top-five recruiting class

Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame staff never waste time compiling an impressive recruiting class. Entering July with 21 commitments, the Fighting Irish bolstered their class with another big-time pledge on Friday.

Winston Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor four-star safety JaDon Blair made the call in favor of the Irish, choosing them over the likes of Penn State, Michigan and Florida State. The addition of Blair, a top-100 prospect in the 2025 On300, bumps Notre Dame up one spot to No. 6 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

“Really just that life after football aspect love shown through the process,” Blair told On3 of his decision. “There wasn’t a dull moment, at least every day hearing from one of them. Chad (Bowden), Coach Al Golden, Coach (Mike) Mickens, Coach Freeman. I was hearing from someone every day and that was huge in me loving Notre Dame.”

After inking the No. 11 class in the nation last year, the Irish are eyeing their first top-five class since the 2013 cycle.

The trenches and secondary highlight ND’s potential 2025 haul

Eight top-200 overall prospects are in the mix for Notre Dame this cycle. Of the 22 total commits, 13 are four-stars.

Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall Will Black is On3’s No. 5 overall prospect and a top-50 recruit in the On3 Industry Ranking. He highlights the class and is one of three blue-chip tackles in the mix, alongside Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic Memorial four-star Owen Strebig and Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick four-star Matty Augustine.

“In what we consider to be the strongest OT group, at this stage in the process, in several cycles. Black, we viewed, as having the best the best functional movement, athleticism, flexibility on film in this group. You would never know that he’s 6-foot-7. Good length and a guy who plays with outstanding control and great coordination in pass protection,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said of Black.

Lucedale (Miss.) George County four-star quarterback Deuce Knight has continued to see his stock rise ahead of his senior season. On3’s Elite 11 MVP, Knight is a top-60 recruit and the No. 7 QB in the nation. The secondary is also set to feature a pair of top-100 athletes, as Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Ivan Taylor and Indianapolis Ben Davis four-star cornerback Mark Zackery are both also in the mix.

Chicago Simeon four-star EDGE Christopher Burgess is the No. 100 overall prospect in the nation, while Tampa Berkeley Prep four-star SAF Dallas Golden checks in at No. 107. Other top commits include Green Bay Notre Dame De La Baie four-star tight end James Flanigan, Delran (N.J.) St. Joseph’s four-star linebacker Anthony Sacca and Elmhurst (Ill.) York Community four-star defensive lineman Joseph Reiff.