Fact or Fiction: Penn State leads Notre Dame for JaDon Blair
Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman is joined by Tyler James of InsideNDSports.com, Dylan Callaghan-Croley of HappyValleyInsider.com and Tim Sullivan of HokieHaven.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Notre Dame is ‘Tight End U.’
Friedman's take: FICTION. Pro Football Focus says Notre Dame has had 27 tight ends drafted since 1967, more than Penn State (22), Michigan (19), Georgia (18), USC (18), Iowa (16), and every other program. It’s fine to give the Fighting Irish that title given that stat on its own but the moniker is supposed to answer the question “Where do the best tight ends come from?” That answer is undoubtedly Iowa. George Kittle, Noah Fant, T.J. Hockenson, and Sam LaPorta are all former Hawkeyes currently starting in the NFL and Kittle is a lock for the Hall of Fame.
For all those tight ends Notre Dame has put in the NFL, the Fighting Irish have only had one first rounder this century. Iowa has had three.
James' take: FACT. The rate at which Notre Dame produces tight ends that end up in the NFL is tough to match whether you want to stretch back to 1967 or if you want to focus on more recent players. When the Las Vegas Raiders selected Michael Mayer in the 2023 draft, he extended a streak that started with Anthony Fasano in 2006. The last 11 primary starting tight ends for Notre Dame have gone on to be drafted.
Iowa has a strong argument for high-end NFL success as of late, because it has at least three NFL tight ends (George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson and Sam LaPorta) who have been more productive than any of the current Notre Dame tight ends playing in the league. But quantity is on Notre Dame’s side, and if you’re trying to increase your odds of making it to the NFL, isn’t that what you want? Notre Dame has had nine tight ends drafted since 2010 compared to six from Iowa. Five Notre Dame tight ends are currently on NFL rosters. Iowa has four.
What makes Notre Dame’s run so impressive is that some of the tight ends who sustained careers in the NFL weren’t necessarily elite coming out of college. Brock Wright didn’t get drafted, but he’s still three seasons into his NFL career with the Detroit Lions. Durham Smythe, who never caught more than 15 passes at Notre Dame, has already made more than $12 million in six seasons after the Miami Dolphins selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.
Notre Dame’s Tight End U status has carried on through multiple Notre Dame coaching staffs, and there’s no indication that it should end soon. Mitchell Evans landed on NFL radars last season by leading the Irish in receptions with 29 for 422 yards and one touchdown despite playing in just eight games.
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2. Penn State has overtaken Notre Dame for JaDon Blair.
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Friedman's take: FICTION. Even coming off his visit to Michigan, Penn State has the momentum in JaDon Blair’s recruitment right now but I keep coming back to the strength of his personal relationships with the coaching staff and the academic reputation of Notre Dame. Those two factors, along with the way Notre Dame was able to make a strong early impression, make me think the Fighting Irish are still the team to beat heading into Blair’s extensive visit schedule.
Callaghan-Croley's take: FACT. I always felt even when Notre Dame was the perceived leader that Penn State had a great chance at landing JaDon Blair. That remains the case after his most recent visit to Penn State. The Nittany Lions have made Blair a priority throughout his recruitment but especially the last few months. This is still going to be a tough recruitment to win, Notre Dame and Michigan have plenty to offer, there's no doubt about that. That being said, Blair has developed a strong relationship with Anthony Poindexter throughout his recruitment and notably, Notre Dame saw their own safeties coach Chris O'Leary leave for the NFL last month, Michigan saw a ton of staff turnover as well, as we all know. That's another factor which could definitely prove to be in Penn State's favor heading into his official visits which start with Virginia Tech next month. Additionally, the Nittany Lions are in a favorable spot with his official visit schedule, currently slated to be his last official visit. Finally, Penn State’s recent success at developing safeties certainly won’t hurt them going down the stretch of this recruitment with former Nittany Lions Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown both enjoying NFL success while the Nittany Lions current safety room is filled with likely future NFL talent in Kevin Winston Jr., Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley just to name a few. When considering all these factors, I think the Nittany Lions have a lot of reasons to feel good about landing JaDon Blair when his commitment date rolls around.
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3. Rivals250 quarterback Malik Washington will end up with Virginia Tech
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Friedman's take: FICTION. The slow developing recruitment of talented quarterback Malik Washington could very well play into the hands of Virginia Tech. The Hokies have been looking for a standout quarterback since the days of Logan Thomas and Tyrod Taylor. Washington may be their answer at quarterback but this is far from a slam dunk. For months Penn State has been considered one of, if not the favorite to land his commitment. Maryland is also right there in the mix.
Washington is expected to take plenty of visits this spring and summer. Tennessee, Texas A&M and Syracuse are just some of the likely destinations. There is plenty of time for twists and turns in his recruitment and there are multiple teams out there who already have one committed quarterback and are looking for a second.
Sullivan's take: FICTION. Even though the Hokies currently have Kelden Ryan, the three-star Texan in the fold, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Washington will end up in Orange and Maroon. First of all, the staff is in a position to snag two quarterbacks in 2025 anyway. The likelihood that Kyron Drones heads to the NFL after the season is well on the sunny side of 50-50, and that will leave just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster at that time. The reality of the portal era is that the staff is just as likely to lose some of those players as they are to land a starting-caliber player as a transfer. Even with Ryan in the fold, this is a class that needs two signal-callers.
Then there's the fact that this staff is extremely serious about recruiting The Footprint - outside of Virginia, it includes the states of Maryland and North Carolina as well as portions of other states that are within a six-hour driving distance from Blacksburg. A highly-recruited kid like Washington at a position of need is going to be a top target for VT for a number of reasons. This group of coaches has the mettle and connections to land a player with that level of priority.
