Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 51 F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G DEFENSIVE BACK CLASS IMPROVES TEAM SPEED Last year on National Signing Day, Freeman said team speed was a point of emphasis with the class. Actually, it's been a point of emphasis since Freeman took over the program. In the 2025 class, Freeman said he's most excited about the six signed defen- sive backs as it relates to team speed. "JaDon [Blair] came here and com- peted," Freeman said. "Ethan Long is another guy that came to camp. Dallas Golden is extremely fast and can play both sides of the ball He's one of the best that I've seen in high school. A re- ally special player. Cree Thomas is an- other guy that we have live evals on. He runs track and is a decathlete." Notre Dame added two more two- sport athletes to the defensive back room. Brandon Logan, a safety, was committed to Vanderbilt baseball. Mark Zackery, a cornerback, could have been a high-ma- jor basketball recruit if he wanted to be. "Most of our guys that play are foot- ball players on the basketball court," Freeman said. "[Zackery] is a basket- ball player when he's on the basketball court. He is a unique talent." The Irish have gotten faster every year since Freeman has been the head coach. That should continue in 2025. "All those guys provide speed," Free- man said. "All those guys provide a ben- efit for what we're looking to add to this recruiting class." MIKE MICKENS: BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED'S IRISH ASSISTANT COACH RECRUITER OF THE YEAR This choice was pretty easy. Mickens has been a crucial part in making Notre Dame's secondary go from a weakness to a big strength. His player development is a key part of that (especially with getting young players ready to play as soon as possi- ble), and the caliber of recruits he's get- ting to South Bend has been impressive. And it should be noted that this is the first year that Mickens had the title of defensive backs coach rather than just cornerbacks coach, a title he's had since 2020. After Chris O'Leary left Notre Dame to join the Los Angeles Chargers staff, the Irish didn't hire a dedicated safeties coach. Mickens leads both groups along with special teams coordi- nator Marty Biagi. And Mickens' half-dozen defensive back signees make up a very strong group. Four of the commits are four-star prospects: Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep cornerback Dallas Golden, Winston- Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor safety JaDon Blair, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider safety Brandon Logan and Indianapolis Ben Davis cornerback Mark Zackery. Golden and Zackery are elite as they come athletically. Golden is a specimen on both sides of the ball, and Zackery shows off his skills as a member of state championship teams in both football and basketball. Blair is a long safety who gives off Kyle Hamilton vibes with his ability to move so well at over 6-foot- 4. Logan has primarily played baseball during his young athletic career, and as he focuses more on the gridiron, the sky is the limit for him. T h e o t h e r two d e - fensive backs in Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class rank as three-stars. One of them is Green- wich (Conn.) Brunswick School three-star safety Ethan Long, who com- mitted to the Irish over Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and others. Phoenix Brophy Prep cornerback Cree Thomas was another strong get for Notre Dame, beating out Wisconsin, Oregon, Bos- ton College, California and others. He comes from the same high school that pro- duced Irish star Benjamin Morrison. ✦ NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL 2025 SIGNEES Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Matty Augustine* OL 6-6 287 Greenwich, Conn. (Brunswick School) Jerome Bettis Jr.* WR 6-2 200 Atlanta (Woodward Academy) Will Black OL 6-7 292 London, Ontario (Choate Rosemary Hall [Conn.]) JaDon Blair* S 6-4 190 Winston-Salem (Mount Tabor) Christopher Burgess Jr. DL 6-3 245 Chicago (Simeon) Elijah Burress* WR 6-0 175 Totowa, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Davion Dixon* DL 6-1 316 Miami (Miami Palmetto) Madden Faraimo* LB 6-2 219 Oceanside, Calif. (JSerra Catholic) James Flanigan TE 6-5 230 Green Bay, Wis. (Notre Dame de la Baie Academy) Dallas Golden CB 6-0 180 Tampa, Fla. (Berkeley Prep) Blake Hebert* QB 6-3 215 Boxford, Mass. (Brunswick School [Conn.]) Cam Herron* OL 6-2 276 Indianapolis (Warren Central) Dominik Hulak DL 6-4 240 Glendale Heights, Ill. (Immaculate Conception) Nolan James Jr.* RB 5-9 200 Westwood, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Ko'o Kia LB 6-1 209 Kahalu'u, Hawai'i (Punahou) Brandon Logan S 5-11 186 Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider) Ethan Long* S 6-1 190 Milford, Conn. (Brunswick School) Joe Reiff DL 6-5 255 Elmhurst, Ill. (York Community) Scrap Richardson* WR 6-2 170 Greenville, Ga. (Greenville) Anthony Sacca LB 6-3 225 Delran, N.J, (St. Joseph's Prep School [Pa.]) Erik Schmidt K 6-1 210 Milwaukee (Marquette University) Owen Strebig* OL 6-7 292 Brookfield, Wis. (Waukesha Catholic Memorial) Gordy Sulfsted DL 6-4 245 Cincinnati (St. Xavier) Cree Thomas* CB 6-0 179 Phoenix (Brophy Prep) Mark Zackery CB 6-0 170 Indianapolis (Ben Davis) Notre Dame defensive backs coach Mike Mickens added six new play- ers to his secondary in the 2025 class, four of whom were rated as four-star recruits. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER * early enrollee