Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Recruiting: Everything to Know About the 2025 Class

Breaking down Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class, from top commits to key targets and what it means for the future of the Irish.

Mason Plummer

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmets rests on the field before the game between the Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmets rests on the field before the game between the Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The story of Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class is one chalk full of ups and downs. It got started off hot by landing two five-star caliber players in quarterback Deuce Knight and safety Ivan Taylor, but since lost them both.

Knight flipped to Auburn and is still flirting with Ole Miss, while Taylor initially flipped his pledge to Michigan before again flipping to Alabama. Notre Dame weathered the storm with those losses, while adding other big-time talents such as five-star offensive lineman Will Black and four-star two-way athlete Dallas Golden.

Flips, Flips and More Flips

You can't talk about the 2025 cycle without looking at the sheer amount of flips that happened from beginning to end.

On top of losing the aforementioned Knight and Taylor, Notre Dame also lost running backs Justin Thurman (Kansas), Daniel Anderson (uncommitted), defensive end CJ May (Louisville), wide receiver Shaun Terry (Missouri) and tight end Nate Roberts (Ohio State).

It is important to note that a handful of those 'flips' were either mutual or the student athlete was processed by the Notre Dame staff, in favor of adding different talent in the class.

On the positive side, Notre Dame was able to flip multiple top talents to bolster its 2025 class.

Athlete Antavious Richardson (USF), offensive lineman Cameron Herron (Iowa), quarterback Blake Hebert (Clemson), running back Nolan James Jr. (Boston College) and kicker Erik Schmidt (Wisconsin) were all targets the Fighting Irish staff was able to flip.

Ridiculous Defensive Back Haul

The Notre Dame defensive staff went beast mode when it came to recruiting defensive backs specifically in the 2025 cycle. Recruits around the country are taking notice of what Notre Dame has done at safety and corner recently and want to be a part of it.

Mike Mickens continues to revolutionize the Notre Dame defensive backs as a whole and this group is just the latest part.

Cornerbacks four-star Dallas Golden, four-star Mark Zackery and three-star Cree Thomas are some of my favorite players in this class. All three are prototypical guys that Mickens continues to hit on and they all have an extremely high ceiling at Notre Dame. Frankly, Cree Thomas being the "worst" of the bunch is insulting.

It would not surprise me one bit if he is as good or better than his counterparts.

The safety group is also impressive, with the rangy four-star 6'4 stud JaDon Blair leading the group. He continues to draw comparisons to Kyle Hamilton and while they are lofty, it's easy to see why he is being compared to the best safety in the NFL.

Three-stars Ethan Long and Brandon Logan are both no slouches either, both standing over 6'1 with great speed. While Blair is more of the centerfield, cover-all-things safety, Logan and Long are playmakers in every sense of the word.

Very, very impressive group.

Lack Of Offensive Firepower

While the defensive group is as impressive as it gets for a recruiting cycle, Notre Dame's offensive class, specifically at the skill positions, is not overwhelming.

A sure-fire bright spot in the class is tight end and Notre Dame legacy James Flanigan, who I believe is a top-five tight end in the country. Notre Dame needed to reload at tight end with Mitchell Evans and Kevin Bauman likely moving on and Flanigan is the right way to do it.

Not to mention, the possibility of Cooper Flanagan and James Flanigan playing tight end together on the field for Notre Dame is awesome and a broadcasters nightmare.

At wide receiver, Notre Dame swung big and missed, largely. Elijah Burress and Antavious Richardson are intriguing athletes, but it would have been much better if they were complimentary pieces to a stud like five-star Derek Meadows, who Notre Dame narrowly missed on.

Running back Nolan James Jr. is much better than what the Irish had in Justin Thurman and Daniel Anderson, but again, I would like this situation more if he was the No.2 back behind a stud.

Lastly, four-star quarterback Blake Hebert has drawn comparisons to Notre Dame's current quarterback Riley Leonard, with his throwing and running ability being showcased throughout his high school tape.

Hebert is raw but will have plenty of time to develop as needed at Notre Dame.

Overall, this class has some excellent athletes at nearly every position group, but is lacking the true starpower to make this a top five class. Notre Dame making a run in the College Football Playoff would certainly help the 2026 class that is off to a flying start already.

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Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

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