Four-star safety JaDon Blair commits to Notre Dame football over Michigan
On his 17th birthday, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor class of 2025 safety JaDon Blair made a major announcement. He’s taking his talents to Notre Dame to play football for the Fighting Irish.
Blair’s recruiting journey was long. He narrowed his options to Florida State, Michigan, Louisville, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. He announced his commitment to the Irish on July 5.
Blair has been a top target for the Notre Dame staff since offering him back in April 2023, and their efforts paid off Friday, with the four-star prospect giving them a major commitment.
“From the beginning of the recruiting process when they offered me, I’ve heard from them consistently,” Blair told Blue & Gold before going public with his pledge. “It’s been every day, whether it’s from Coach [Marcus] Freeman, Coach [Mike] Mickens, Coach [Al] Golden or Chad Bowden.
“They’ve showed how much of a priority I am to them, even when they had other safety commits, and even though they got commitments from [defensive backs] Mark Zackery and Dallas Golden, they still wanted me. They view me as a missing piece to their program.”
Blair is Notre Dame’s 22nd commitment of the class and sixth defensive back pledge. Zackery, Golden and Cree Thomas make up the cornerback group, while the Irish already have Ivan Taylor and Ethan Long committed at safety.
According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Blair is the No. 157 overall player and No. 15 safety in America.
Blair goes in depth on Notre Dame commitment
The 6-4.5, 195-pound Blair informed the Irish staff about his commitment decision about a week ago. The Blair family was on a call with Bowden, Notre Dame’s director of player personnel, to ask him some final questions, and JaDon gave Bowden the good news at the end of the call. Then, they talked with the rest of the staff, including Mickens and Freeman.
“They were extremely fired up,” said Blair. “My guy Chad was screaming and yelling. Coach Mickens was more than excited, and Coach Freeman was telling his whole family. He was yelling around his house about it. His family had been asking him every day about me. That right there — you can’t beat it, in my opinion. It shows how much love they have at Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame was the team to beat in Blair’s recruitment at the start of the year, but safeties coach Chris O’Leary left the Fighting Irish to take a job with the Los Angeles Chargers. That knocked ND down a couple of pegs in Blair’s pecking order.
If you had told Blair at that point that he would still end up picking the Irish, would he have believed it?
“Nah, I probably wouldn’t have,” Blair answered. “It was tough. When Coach O’Leary left, that’s when I really opened my options back up. I was close to committing. Like I said to you before, when Coach O’Leary left, I wasn’t sure about Notre Dame because I didn’t know Coach Mickens like that and his coaching style.
“That’s when I started leaning more toward Michigan and Penn State. But Mickens did a great job of talking to me.”
Blair recalls the exact day that it clicked with him that he’d eventually choose the Fighting Irish.
“June 7 is when I knew, and that was before my [Notre Dame] official visit,” he said. “I knew I wanted to go to Notre Dame. I was like, ‘I don’t know if these other schools will be able to beat them out, but I’m going to have some fun and enjoy them, and if something sparks my attention, then it will.’ But I knew it was Notre Dame.
“I got to talk to Chad that day (June 7) and my parents. I was hearing about all the benefits of going to a school like Notre Dame, plus the football side and playing for Coach Mickens, who is a great guy. I love what he’s doing.”
Blair is a rangy safety who offers a lot in run game support as well. His size and skills give off Kyle Hamilton vibes, and Blair hears those comparisons often.
Some college coaches would tell Blair that the safeties coaches at Notre Dame during Hamilton’s time there (O’Leary and Terry Joseph) are gone. However, the Irish defensive backs coaches have always worked hand in hand, meaning that Mickens — who now leads both the corners and safeties — played a notable part in Hamilton’s development in South Bend.
“The corners and safeties would meet together,” Blair added. “The corners coach would sometimes help with the safeties, and the safeties coach would help with the corners. Mickens has experience with seeing a guy play that position and knows how to use him. I have a whole lot of faith in him.”
Blair picked the Irish for all the on-field reasons, but he also seems equally excited about the off-field opportunities.
“My brand will boom at Notre Dame,” he said. “A lot of people will say ‘I am him,’ but I love to give glory to God, which is why I say ‘He is Him.’ And I feel like at a faith-based school like Notre Dame, it’s going to boom.
“And also, with the type of fans I’ve encountered at Notre Dame, they’re great. They always show love and are supportive people. They were like the sixth man in recruiting. They made it known how much they’d love for me to be there.
“And the education, that sealed the deal. The life after football part — oh my gosh. There’s not really a degree that holds more weight than Notre Dame. For example, Jerome Bettis came back to get his degree. Why? Because it’s Notre Dame. That speaks for itself.”
Blair will get his Notre Dame career started early. He’ll play his senior season this fall at Mount Tabor, sign in December and enroll at the university in January 2025.
The JaDon Blair file
Blair had a strong 2023 season as a junior, posting 56 tackles (3 for loss), 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery and 3 forced fumbles. He played some wide receiver, too, and hauled in 10 passes for 255 yards with 6 touchdowns.
He was named the 2023 Central Piedmont 4A Defensive Player of the Year and made it on the Winston-Salem Journal’s All-Area team. Blair was a third-team all-state performer according to the 2023 HighSchoolOT North Carolina All-State Football Team.
“I’m going to be the most hard-working person,” Blair said. “I’m a competitor at heart. I’m going to compete in every single thing I do. And I’m not talking about just football — in the classroom, or we could be bowling or playing laser tag. I just love to compete.
“Notre Dame is getting a true competitor at heart who is going to give it everything he’s got and will live up to and exceed expectations because that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life.”
On3’s own rankings for Blair are higher than the industry ranking. He’s the No. 85 overall player and No. 8 safety nationally, plus the No. 4 prospect from North Carolina, according to On3.
During his junior basketball season, Blair averaged 12.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, helping lead Mount Tabor to Central Piedmont 4A regular season and tournament championships. He was also selected to the All-Area hoops team.
His father, Ja’Warren Blair, played college football at East Carolina and professionally with the Bengals, Browns and the Amsterdam Admirals and the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe.
