2025 S JaDon Blair Talks Notre Dame Return

After his first trip to Notre Dame over the summer, JaDon Blair‍ had high expectations for his return visit for the Irish’s game against Ohio State on Saturday.

Despite having to leave the game a bit early, the 2025 North Carolina safety’s expectations were met and then some.

Blair went through all of the things typical of a visit; eating, seeing the players’ entrance into the stadium and warmups before the game itself.

Blair had the opportunity to eat and speak with Director of High School Scouting Dre Brown before the game. 

“Coach Brown was just talking to me, making me feel wanted,” Blair explained.

That was a big emphasis for Marcus Freeman and the Irish staff toward the 6-foot-4, 182-pounder.

“Coach Freeman actually dapped me up; me and this other dude before he went in, which was very special to me because he didn't dap up every single recruit,” Blair said. “Even my position coaches, they just made sure they talked to me a little bit before they went into the stadium. That's big for me.

“That matters so much because that lets me know if I possibly commit to Notre Dame, when I get there, the love won't change. They'll want to see me be great just as much as I want to be great. They want to make me the best that I can be. I feel like Coach (Chris) O'Leary wants that for me too. He's my position coach and I can see that in him. He sees a lot in my future and I love that about Coach O'Leary. He's very excited about me and my potential and he just wants to see me keep growing.”

Blair was certainly impressed with the crowd and pageantry surrounding Saturday night’s game.

“The atmosphere was great,” he said. “You saw a lot of green everywhere. When the team was running out, how loud it was, the jets coming over, that was the loudest thing I heard ever. The atmosphere was crazy.”

He also had the opportunity to connect - and in some cases, reconnect - with some of the other visiting recruits.

“I got to talk to some of the recruits like Ethan Long‍,” Blair said of the 2025 Connecticut safety. “Of course I see him everywhere, that's my dog. 

“Also the quarterback that committed in 2025 (Deuce Knight‍) and some of the other 2024 and 2025 commits getting to talk to them. They were just telling me how great of a school it is. They were saying, 'We know your goal is to go to the NFL, but if it doesn't work out or an injury happens, this is a great school to graduate from.' And I was like, 'Yeah, that's true.' They were just on me really about committing to Notre Dame. But I'm just taking my time, that's all.”

Blair said he could “definitely” see himself playing in the backend with Long in college.

“We've got similar playing styles, but he's a little more in coverage and I come down a little bit more, just coming from my perspective,” Blair said. “We've got very similar games and I can see both of us on the field at the same time. I'm at free or he's at free, it really doesn't matter because of how similar our games are to each other.”

Blair will see the Irish in action again this Saturday when he visits Duke. He plans to be at a different school each week, but doesn’t have all of his future plans outlined just yet.

For now, Blair intends to stay in steady contact with the Irish.

“Just for them to keep contacting me every day, getting to speak to them a lot,” he said. “Coach O'Leary, Coach Freeman when he can, the cornerbacks coach, just when they can talk to me, just text me or call me. That's big to me because it shows me that you want me more and more.”

After the season, look for Blair to narrow his list to a Top 10 or Top 8 before official visits next spring.

“That's why I'm really big on building relationships now because my commitment date ain't too far away. I'll be committing next year, but I'll be narrowing it down probably at the end of the season, toward the end of the year probably.”

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