In-state safety recruit Brandon Logan discusses decision to flip to Notre Dame football

With unique opportunities come hard decisions. And Notre Dame 2025 class safety commit Brandon Logan experienced both earlier this summer. 

Two years ago, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider senior verbally committed to the Vanderbilt baseball program when he was 14. But following the 6-foot, 180-pounder’s standout performance at Notre Dame football’s Irish Invasion camp on June 2, general manager Chad Bowden made it clear to Logan he had the talent to play more than one sport collegiately.

Then, by month’s end, Bowden, head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens extended a full-ride football scholarship offer to Logan. They joined Iowa and Indiana, who offered him a comparable opportunity in the spring.

Irish baseball coach Shawn Stiffler also got on board. He gave Logan the opportunity to play for his program. It left Logan with a difficult decision — one he might never have imagined three years ago. 

“It was very stressful — the whole process — just because I didn’t want to let anybody down,” Logan told Fort Wayne WANE-TV sports director Glenn Marini in an interview on Monday. “But I ultimately had to pick what was best for me.”

On Saturday, Logan revealed that Notre Dame was best for him. He verbally committed to the Irish football and baseball programs, one day after decommitting from Vanderbilt baseball on Friday night.

“Over the past couple of years, I realized where I could be in football,” Logan told Marini. “So, Notre Dame presented a good opportunity for me to continue baseball and football.” 

According to the On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — Logan is the No. 696 overall player, No. 61 safety nationally and No. 9 prospect in Indiana in the 2025 class. 

However, most recruiting media services have not evaluated Logan extensively since he just emerged on the football recruiting scene. On3 has and considers him a three-star prospect, who ranks No. 40 at his position and No. 9 in the state. 

During his 14-game junior season, Logan logged 95 tackles and 6 interceptions. The Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA) named him to its top 50 all-state team. 

Brandon Logan is next up in the Fort Wayne to Notre Dame pipeline

When Logan signs with the Irish in December, he’ll give them another safety from the Fort Wayne area in consecutive cycles. 

In 2024, they signed Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side product Tae Johnson. Since 2009, they have also added future NFL standouts, such as tight end Tyler Eifert and linebackers Jaylon Smith and Drue Tranquill from the area. Logan said he spoke to Johnson and Smith, as well as former two-sport star Jeff Samardzija’s brother. 

According to Logan, Johnson and Smith are not the only Fort Wayne products he has heard from. Locals are fired up for him to continue his college football career in South Bend. 

“People in Fort Wayne love Notre Dame football,” Logan told Marini. “So, I mean, it’s a lot of congratulations and whatnot. But I am trying to stay focused on the present.”

Rightfully so.

Expectations are sky-high for Snider High this season. The Panthers enter 2024 as the defending Indiana Class 5A state champions. Now, they have an Irish football commit on their roster. 

So, the pressure is just now beginning to truly build for Logan. And he believes Notre Dame is the best place to help him handle it.

“It’s the best fit for me, depending on where I want to take my career — whether it’s football or baseball,”  Logan told Marini. “But even if it’s not football or baseball, I think I will be set for life with a Notre Dame degree.”