JaDon Blair is one of the most highly-coveted safeties in the country.
After official visits this spring and throughout June, the four-star defender has locked his decision in.
Blair committed to Notre Dame on Friday, picking the Fighting Irish over the likes of Penn State, South Carolina and others. Virginia Tech, Michigan and Florida State were also finalists for the 6-foot-4, 185-pounder from Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor High School in North Carolina.
Blair chose the path that emphasized football as much as life away from the field. The fit and relationships with the people in South Bend were too strong toward the end.
That includes his bond with coach Marcus Freeman, among others.
"Coach Freeman is a great guy, a really great guy, and when you get to know him and get comfortable with him and he has normal conversations with you, it's like we've been talking for a long time and we've known each other for an extremely long time. He picked up on that fast.
"Ever since Notre Dame offered, there has been a text or a call from someone on that staff," he continued. "Coach Freeman, Al Golden, Mike Mickens, Chad Bowden -- one of those four people texts me every single day ... even the DL coach and the LB coach text me. That stood out because it let me know I'm a priority for Notre Dame and how much they want to develop me."
The coaches on the defensive side of the ball loved how the long, rangy blue-chipper fit into their plans in the secondary.
The Kyle Hamilton comparisons have been thrown out by several coaches at Notre Dame, and the coaches believe Blair's ceiling can be equally as high.
"A lot of people don't know that Coach Mickens was a part of Hamilton's development," he explained. "They would all be in the same meeting rooms, talking and coming up with plays, and they would piggyback off each other. The cornerbacks coach helped the safeties coach, and the safetis coach helped the cornerbacks. That right there showed me that Mickens has the expertise in developing guys my size and he has the full-on belief he can develop me to be even better because of my athletic ability."
"Golden is a mastermind," Blair asserted. "To be honest, the way he breaks things down and what you can do in football, he's not just getting you pro-ready or NFL-ready. He's getting you Hall of Fame status ready. It's crazy how he teaches it to you."
Blair loved the vision on the field and also hit connections and fit away from it.
In a decision that came "down to the wire," the four-star safety felt that Notre Dame provided a different sort of experience over the next three or four years than other programs could offer.
"You can go get developed anywhere, and if the coaching is good it's about how you get developed and how fast you pick up the playbook, learn those plays," Blair started. "What I'm looking for is coaching, teaching, and a system I can get down. I want life after football, a great education, and I want to be set up for the rest of my life. When people look at me, they can network with me, build relationships with him ... that all plays a part."
"I fit in extremely well with the coaches," he explained. "When I went down there, all of the DBs were at Coach Mickens' house having fun. When I was there, it was I was already there, having regular conversations with people like-minded to me, with similar goals, focusing on football and grades and having a great life for themselves. What's what it's all about at this point -- football can carry me to the NFL, but I have a whole life ahead of me. With a school like Notre Dame and the culture they have, I definitely believe I will be benefiting from that for the rest of my life."
