Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 MAY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Size, Talent And Instincts Make It Jadon Blair By Todd D. Burlage With two-time All-America Irish safety Xavier Watts out the door and off to the NFL, the Notre Dame coaches have a big void to fill in their defensive secondary this fall. While there are plenty of proven player options to take over for Watts, don't sleep on gifted true freshman JaDon Blair. Blair — a Winston-Salem, N.C., native who is rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 5 safety in the 2025 class by On3 — has great size, con- fidence level, physicality, instincts and ease of movement on the field, which puts him on the rotational radar. At 6-foot-5 and 204 pounds, Blair is already the tallest and one of the biggest safeties on the team. During one spring practice that was open to the media April 5, Blair worked with the second-team defense and played well, especially against the run where he made at least two impressive stops. Perhaps unfairly, it's hard not to draw freshman comparisons — at least physically — between Blair and former Irish standout safety Kyle Hamilton, who arrived on campus in 2019 at 6-4 and 210 pounds. Irish senior Jalen Stroman, a Virginia Tech transfer, will likely open fall camp as the frontrunner to secure Watts' starting spot. But that's not to say Blair can't at least carve a situational niche in the lineup, and perhaps even put himself in line to start if the circumstances work in his favor. Mike Mickens Has Done It Again With Cree Thomas By Jack Soble Thomas is one of two freshmen who are generating the most buzz this spring. The other is wide receiver Elijah Burress, and while he looks like he'll be a good player right away, defensive backs coach Mike Mickens' track record is impossible to ignore. Benjamin Morrison and Leonard Moore were both Freshman All-Americans. So was Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, at Cincinnati. Mickens has a knack for identifying good cornerbacks, recruiting them and getting them ready to play in Year 1. So, when in doubt, pick a cornerback. And the praise for Thomas has been profuse, to say the least. "He's going to be good," Mickens said. "He's BMo 2.0," junior corner Christian Gray added. "I ain't gonna lie. He's BMo 2.0. I feel like he's going to be better than me and Lenny. I just know he's going to be great." Thomas comes from Phoenix Brophy College Prep, the same high school as Morrison. He doesn't have the same recruiting pedigree (No. 508 in the On3 Industry Ranking) or crazy physical tools (6-foot-1, 186 pounds) as someone like Blair, but he doesn't need to. "He's a physical DB," junior wide receiver Jordan Faison said. "He'll come up and play in your face. He'll do what he has to do to cover. He's good at making plays with the ball in the air." Thomas also has a less complicated path to playing time than most. The No. 3 corner role is seemingly up for grabs, and there's no reason he can't take it. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH EARLY-ENROLLING FRESHMAN WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN 2025? Jaylen Sneed arrived on campus as a freshman in 2022 as the highest-rated player in that Irish recruiting class, checking in as On3's No. 2 line- backer and No. 26 overall player nationally. Production was expected to come quickly, and the Hilton Head Island, S.C., native's talent ceiling seemed as high as any player on the team. While he showed flashes of brilliance and became a steady contributor during his first three seasons with the Irish — he has 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 33 games played — both he and his coaches want more this fall. Sneed insists he's ready to deliver. Up about 10 pounds from last spring to 232, Sneed said the added weight and a clean slate under first-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash will make this the breakout season for him. Blue & Gold Illustrated and other local media recently caught up with Sneed to talk about his time at Notre Dame, his evolution as a player, and what he wants out of this 2025 season. BGI: How would you describe Coach Ash's style compared to former defensive coordinator Al Golden's? Sneed: "I feel like Coach Ash has been staying on all of us — the younger guys, the older guys — and not treating anybody different. I feel like that's a little bit different because Coach Golden, he trusted us a little bit more. Since he's new, Coach Ash doesn't trust us as much yet. And so he's been on us, and on everybody, and making sure everybody's doing the right things." BGI: Is there anything Coach Ash is asking you to do that maybe you haven't done in previous seasons? Sneed: "Not so far, we've been just running the base packages and stuff. So, I've just been playing early-down linebacker as of now, and we're just seeing where it goes from there." BGI: You've added some good weight from last season. How has that helped this spring? Sneed: "I feel like it's impacted my game. I feel so much more explosive. I feel stronger, I feel like I can actually move guys back now. And it's been amazing to play linebacker and not feel like you're a smaller guy out there." BGI: What kind of strides are you hoping to make as a player this season? Sneed: "I really want to be a leader. Since I'm a senior now, that's my role to take over. I just can't wait to be a leader of the [defensive] unit, be a leader of the linebackers and just be able to show and teach the younger guys. When I was a younger guy, that's what the older guys did for me. So, I want to do it for them." BGI: How did the terrific 2024 season carry into this spring? Sneed: "It's been amazing. You know, we only had about six weeks off, to be honest. So, it's been amazing because it felt like you didn't even get a break from football. "Honestly, for me, I love it. I feel like that's all I wanted to do is get back to work as soon as we lost that championship game." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME SENIOR LINEBACKER JAYLEN SNEED Sneed has notched 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks in his first three seasons with the Irish. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER BLAIR THOMAS