4-star safety JaDon Blair announces top 10 schools

Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor four-star safety JaDon Blair holds offers from 22 schools. He is ready to cut that list by more than half. 

Blair has announced a top 10 of Florida State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. So far, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound defensive back has visited each of his finalists except for the Hurricanes, Tigers and Wolverines. 

“These are my top 10 schools is because of the way they have been recruiting me and the way they have been keeping in contact with me,” Blair told On3. “There’s not really a day where I don’t hear from these schools.” 

Blair has numerous visits on deck

Five of these aforementioned programs are already scheduled to receive official visits from Blair. He will start his trip to Virginia Tech on April 12-14, his trip to South Carolina on May 31, his trip to Notre Dame on June 11, his trip to Michigan on June 14 and his trip to Penn State on June 21. 

Before the official visits, Blair will take unofficial visits to Penn State (March 15) and Michigan (March 21).

Blair also would like to see practices at Louisville, Notre Dame and South Carolina, as well as potentially ones at Maryland and Miami. At the moment, the No. 3 player in North Carolina wants to commit in July. 

“It will be a gut feeling,” said Blair, the No. 43 overall prospect and No. 2 safety in the 2025 On300. “It will be about how much I get along with the head coach. It has to feel like home to me before I commit. I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and they say I’ll know when it’s the place for me because I will get that gut feeling.” 

Blair will announce another cutdown in the coming weeks

According to Blair, in-person visits are very important to his recruitment because he can experience each program and campus firsthand. The four-star also appreciated when coaches visited his high school in January, as that showed him “how much they’re interested in me and want me.” 

Before announcing his college destination, Blair plans to reveal a reduced list of five finalists. He already knows how some of the 10 schools he is seriously considering can make that group. 

“When I make the next cut, I’m going with my gut feeling at that point,” Blair said. “That’s going to be from how great my relationship is with the coaches, how good I feel with them and how comfortable I feel around them. That all plays a role when I make that next cut to my top five.”