Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes Lose Staff Member To Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Colorado Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders have lost one of their top recruiting staff members to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

As announced Tuesday, Notre Dame named Jourdan Blake as its new director of player personnel. Blake spent the past two seasons as Colorado's assistant director of player personnel/high school relations, helping "Coach Prime" revitalize the Buffs' roster.

With the Fighting Irish, Blake will work under coach Marcus Freeman and general manager Mike Martin. Notre Dame is only a few months removed from an impressive run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Freeman's Fighting Irish beat the Indiana Hoosiers, Georgia Bulldogs and Penn State Nittany Lions in the first-ever 12-team CFP before losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national title game.

Blake is a former defensive back at Baylor and SMU who continues his rise in the college football recruiting world. His post-playing career began at SMU as the Mustangs' recruiting coordinator from 2019-21. He then left SMU for TCU in 2022, the same year the Horned Frogs lost to Georgia in the CFP National Championship Game.

Blake returned to SMU for a brief stint as the Mustangs' director of recruiting operations before joining Sanders' staff prior to the 2023 season. During his time with the Buffs, Blake helped Colorado improve from a one-win team in 2022 to 4-8 in 2023 and 9-4 this past season. According to his LinkedIn, Blake spent this past summer as a scouting intern with the NFL's Houston Texans.

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Blake owns a strong football pedigree, as he's the son of former Oklahoma Sooners coach John Blake, who passed away in 2020. John was the Dallas Cowboys' defensive line coach from 1993-95 before leading the Sooners from 1996-98. Oklahoma went a combined 12-22 in those three seasons.

Nov 29, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders (21) and head coach Deion Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) and social media producer Deion Sanders Jr. following the win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Unlike Colorado and its well-publicized success in the transfer portal under "Coach Prime," Notre Dame has found most of its recruiting wins via the high school ranks in recent years. Freeman recently landed 24 class of 2025 signees, giving Notre Dame the 12th-ranked signing class nationally (per 247Sports). Notre Dame currently owns seven class of 2026 commits, including three of the four-star variety.

Despite losing quarterback Riley Leonard and other key players, the Fighting Irish should be strong again in 2025. ESPN placed Notre Dame at No. 4 in its way-too-early college football top 25 power rankings.

Colorado signed 14 class of 2025 recruits but is still searching for its first class of 2026 commit. In that 2025 signing class, "Coach Prime" once again prioritized quality over quantity. Notable signees included quarterback Julian Lewis, offensive linemen Chauncey Gooden and Carde Smith, wide receiver Adrian Wilson and defensive lineman London Merritt.

Time will tell how losing Blake will impact Colorado's future recruiting success.