#STRecruiting: SAF JaDon Blair set with official visits and a commitment day

Touted SAF JaDon Blair (6-4 180) of Winston-Salem is about to hit the final stretch of his recruiting. Blair made spring unofficial visits to Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame. This weekend, he will take the first of his seven scheduled official visits, all leading to his commitment announcement on his birthday, July 5th.

“I want to feel like I’m at home,” Blair said of what’s most important for him to take away from his officials.  “I just want to see what place feels like home to me the most, what place I fit in the best.  I’ve heard some extremely great things about each school.  Each school separates themselves in some type of category, but I really haven’t gotten the feeling.  I feel like on these last couple of visits I will get that visit from one of these schools and I will know where I want to be.” 

Blair will start his OVs this weekend at Virginia Tech. The following weekend he will see Louisville. He heads to South Carolina May 31st. Notre Dame is scheduled for June 11th. He will go to Michigan June 14th and then to Florida State June 18th. Penn State gets the final official on June 21st. Then, it’s decision time.

“My plan is to pray on it and just really ask God to see what path is best for me,” Blair said.  “Of course, I’m going to with my gut and all, but I want to have that feeling.  I’ve been to a lot of places, and the coaches told me once I get that feeling, I’m going to feel it, and I haven’t felt that yet.”

USC secondary coach Torrian Gray is doing his best to ignite that feeling inside Blair in favor of the Gamecocks. He is in constant contact, and head coach Shane Beamer also gets in touch from time to time and supports the message he hears from Gray.

“Them telling me how they are looking forward to seeing me again and how they enjoy me each time I’m down there,” Blair said.  “How Coach Gray would love to coach me and would love for me to be a star player in their program. He contacts my mom, contacts my dad, he puts us all in a group text and contacts all of us at the same time. The relationship I have with Coach Gray is great.  He gets on the phone with me sometimes and just lets me know he’s thinking about me and can’t wait till I get back up there.”

Blair last visited the Gamecocks for a junior day in January. He also watched a spring practice in 2023 and, of course, many of their games on television. What he has seen from Gray and how he uses his safeties has impressed him.

“They fly around, definitely, to the ball,” Blair said.  “They are always around the play, involved in the play.  They go into a lot of depth in the teaching of the fundamentals.  I could see myself in that position just because of the way Coach Gray coaches the DBs.  They are all locked in.  They focus on the little details before practices.  They are doing little drills to help themselves out.  He has a very great way of teaching.”

As he goes into the official visits phase of his recruiting, Blair said no single program is standing out above the rest.

“Those seven OVs that I listed, they are all contacting me consistently,” he said.  “It’s kind of hard to separate when I’m at least hearing from one of them every day.”

Last season Blair totaled 72 tackles with four interceptions and four forced fumbles.