Safety JaDon Blair Reacts to Miami Offer, Uptick in Recruitment After Switching to Safety

Mount Tabor (N.C.) High School safety JaDon Blair has been one of the fastest-rising defensive backs in the class of 2025 this spring. 

Since January, Blair has received offers from high-major programs like Virginia Tech, Penn State, Wake Forest, Florida State and Miami. His offer from the Hurricanes came on May 16 after a conversation with linebackers coach Derek Nicholson.

“[Nicholson’s] a pretty cool dude, man. I liked the talk. The talk was real and stuff like that,” Blair told LifeWallet Sports. “And getting an offer from Miami, that’s just not a regular offer. I mean, you had great safeties come up out of there … Just getting an offer from Miami, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’”

At 6-foot-4, Blair compares in height to Miami starting safety James Williams, who towers over most other defensive backs at 6-foot-5.

Blair took visits to Duke Virginia Tech, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest and Eastern Carolina in the spring.

The Player:

Blair, who also plays quarterback, did not get much attention from colleges in his freshman year. When he started playing safety in the spring heading into his sophomore season, schools began to notice him.

“Freshman year, I was unranked, no stars. I wasn’t really on the radar. I went to camps as a quarterback, but in the spring, my head coach, [Tiesuan Brown], made the decision. He was like, ‘I’m gonna put you at safety,’ I wasn’t really to with it, cause I really wasn’t always a safety,” Blair said.

“Back in Pop Warner, I did play running back and linebacker, but it was never safety. My Coach Brown put me in front of coaches that spring, but I didn’t have [any] varsity film, and from that point on, I just took the position very seriously. I was like, ‘I can actually do something with this position.’ Because when I was in spring and just moving around, and I had colleges asking who I am, my coach came to me and was like, ‘See, I told you.’”

Despite Blair’s newness at the position, he plays instinctively and with a level of technicality that would make you think he’s been playing safety for years. Because of size and length (Blair’s wingspan is around 6-foot-8), he can effortlessly cover ground when used in more of a center-fielder role.

When he plays in the tackle box, Blair has shown the willingness to make plays as a tackler, which he takes pride in.

“I just feel like I can come down and make a play on the ball. I can come down and hit, which I’ll say separates myself from a lot of safeties with that aspect of my game,” Blair said. “I can come down and I can make a tackle … I’m gonna actually hit you.”