Highly-touted safety JaDon Blair transfers from Notre Dame to Missouri, bringing his elite talent to the SEC.
Former Notre Dame safety JaDon Blair has committed to Missouri for the 2026 football season. Blair was one of the first names to enter the transfer portal from South Bend after seeing little to no action in 2025 as a true freshman. Blair is the second player in the last 24 hours to commit to play in the SEC following former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey who has elected to finish his final two years of collegiate ball at the University of Kentucky under new head coach Will Stein.
Blair was one of the heralded recruits of the 2025 recruiting class. The 6-5, 215-pound safety was considered the No. 115 recruit in the country according to On3 and Rivals industry ranking and the No. 11 ranked safety in the country. Blair was a consensus four-star recruit with On3 being the outlet that graded out Blair the highest ranking him the No. 72 player in the 2025 class, the No. 5 safety in the country and the No. 5 recruit in the state of North Carolina.
This past season, Blair had a lot in front of him on the depth chart with players like captain Adon Shuler, redshirt freshman Tae Johnson, veteran Luke Talich, Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman and fellow true freshman Ethan Long who ended up playing more snaps than Blair this past regular season. Despite his lack of playing time, Blair was considered one of the players with the highest upside in the 2025 defensive recruiting class. After all, there aren't many 6-5, 215-pound safeties around the country.
Still, almost all of the 2025 recruiting class remains intact and they're expected to play an even bigger role in the program this upcoming season. Linebacker Madden Fararimo will continue to see increased playing time while fellow linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa continues to recover. Cornerbacks Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery are expected to see the field more in 2026 with Golden being the front runner to win the starting nickel position. Defensive lineman Gordy Sulfsted, Joe Reiff and Davion Dixon also have the potential to crack the rotation.
Missouri is a strong fit for Blair having been a top defense in the country over the last couple of seasons. In 2025, the Tigers finished ranked No. 17 in the country in scoring defense, No. 8 in the country in yards allowed per game and No. 8 in the country in yards allowed per play. They also finished the season ranked No. 11 in the country in passing yards allowed per game but only finished with seven interceptions on the year which ranked them No. 94 in the country. Adding a talent like Blair to the roster will help increase those numbers.
The North Carolina native is a story in South Bend of 'what could have been' and it could have been spectacular. Unfortunately, this type of storyline will remain consistent while the portal system continues to operate like the wild west and NIL continues with little to no guard rails. Blair is an exceptional talent with extremely high upside. Hopefully, the 6-5, 215-pound safety can have better fortune in Columbia.
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