Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY MIKE SINGER T here have been twists and turns this summer with Notre Dame's 2025 de- fensive back board, but as of late July it seemed that the situation had settled down. The picture is clear as to what is next on the board. And it's simple — keep your five com- mits locked in and flip Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider's Brandon Logan from his Vander- bilt baseball commit. Recruiting can be unpredictable, but that's exactly what Blue & Gold Illustrated expects to happen. When Las Vegas Bishop Gorman's Derek Meadows committed to LSU July 20 over Notre Dame, it was a major sting to the Irish receiver board. The position is a weakness of Notre Dame's 2025 class without him, but if he would've picked Marcus Freeman's program, then receiver would've changed to more of a strength. But when Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange safety Ivan Taylor flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Mich- igan July 8, Notre Dame's defensive back class remained a strength. Taylor is a fantastic prospect, and sources in South Bend believed the four-star prospect would have played as a true freshman at Notre Dame. But even without him, the group position coach Mike Mickens and Co. have assembled is still strong. Notre Dame is excited about its com- mitted safeties in Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor's JaDon Blair and Green- wich (Conn.) Brunswick School's Ethan Long. Both players are long, rangy defen- sive back recruits who can cover a lot of ground. Blair committed to the Irish over Michigan, Penn State and others July 5, and he is ranked as the nation's No. 3 safety and No. 51 overall player by On3. Long is the lowest-ranked defensive back commit, but he can make a case this fall to be a four-star player by the end of the cycle. He currently is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 53 safety in the land by On3. Meanwhile, Rivals has Long as a four-star recruit in its rankings. The 6-2, 185-pounder picked Notre Dame over Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and others in January. The Irish are looking to take six defen- sive backs in the class. Logan, the No. 40 safety nationally per On3, has been com- mitted to Vanderbilt baseball since his freshman year of high school but the Irish are in a good spot to keep him in the Hoosier State to play both sports. Notre Dame decided to pursue Logan after he had a standout performance at its Irish Invasion camp in early June. The plan at first was to recruit him like they did with Jordan Faison — having him start out on scholarship for the other sport (lacrosse in Faison's case). And if he plays a snap on the gridiron, his scholar- ship changes to football. But with Taylor off to Michigan, it's Blue & Gold Illus- trated's understanding that Logan would be on football scholarship right away. Sources believe that Logan has the potential to be just as good as Taylor when he focuses more on football. His testing numbers were off the chart at Irish Invasion in June. Logan has pri- marily been a baseball player up to this point, but the Notre Dame football staff has identified how he is bursting with potential. The trio the Irish have committed at cornerback is impressive, and there are no signs of any of them being interested in other programs. Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep's Dallas Golden is the No. 10 safety and No. 112 overall prospect nationally according to On3, and he could very well play safety in college at a high level. However, the Irish also like him at corner. Golden might be the best pound-for-pound athlete in the class. The Irish staff targeted him very early in the cycle, offering him back in 2022. He was clearly one of Notre Dame's top priorities in the class. The Irish pulled off a huge recruit- ing victory May 25, landing Indianapo- lis Ben Davis' Mark Zackery, the No. 14 cornerback and No. 122 overall recruit in the land. Zackery was also high on Cincinnati, Florida and Michigan before committing to the Irish. Notre Dame always felt good about landing Zackery, but it got tricky in his recruitment down the stretch with him. However, the Irish got the lockdown corner locked in with a pledge. Zackery is another highly ath- letic prospect, who is also a standout on the basketball court. Phoenix Brophy Prep's Cree Thomas is a three-star player as the No. 58 cor- nerback nationally per On3, but in some of the Irish's past recruiting classes he'd be a headliner of the group. He commit- ted to the Irish over Arizona, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Oregon and others. Thomas comes from the same high school as Irish rising junior cornerback Ben Morrison, and they have similar playing styles with their versatility and strong football acumen. ✦ Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep's Dallas Golden, who is the No. 10 safety and No. 112 overall prospect nationally according to On3, may be Notre Dame's best pound-for-pound athlete in the 2025 class. PHOTO BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame's 2025 Defensive Back Class Shaping Up Nicely NOTRE DAME'S 2025 DEFENSIVE BACK COMMITS Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) JaDon Blair S 6-4½ 195 Winston-Salem, N.C. (Mount Tabor) No. 3 safety and No. 51 overall player Dallas Golden S/CB 6-0 188 Tampa, Fla. (Berkeley Prep) No. 10 safety and No. 112 overall player Ethan Long S 6-2 185 Greenwich, Conn. (Brunswick School) Three-star recruit and No. 53 safety Cree Thomas CB 6-1 170 Phoenix (Brophy College Prep) Three-star recruit and No. 58 cornerback Mark Zackery CB 5-10½ 160 Indianapolis (Ben Davis) No. 14 corner and No. 122 overall player, per On3