Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Recruiting: 2025 Class Signing Day Superlatives

From top playmakers to under-the-radar gems, breaking down superlatives for Notre Dame’s impressive 2025 recruiting class.
Mason Plummer|
Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches game action against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches game action against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Every year around this time, it's fun to analyze the incoming freshmen class for Notre Dame and try to gauge who will be the star contributors in the coming seasons. There are always surprises, but it's also fun to look back and past predictions and superlatives to see which were right and which were way off.

For example, I believe a few years back I had Benjamin Morrison ranked as Notre Dame's 12th best player in his class. You can't name 12 better defensive backs in Notre Dame history than Morrison.

Not great from me. However, I do have some hits in the past (Joe Alt, Xavier Watts, Cam Hart) that look awesome now.

This 2025 class for Notre Dame is one with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, with some stars that should make an impact as soon as next year, and a few that will end up being diamonds in the rough and make their mark in a few years.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class MVP: Offensive Lineman, Will Black

Notre Dame is far and away 'O-Line U' and Will Black is the next great Irish offensive tackle. His game coming out of high school is as good as it gets, hence why he is rated as a five-star or high four-star on every recruiting platform.

It won't be easy for Black to play immediately with true freshman Anthonie Knapp at left tackle and sophomore Aamil Wagner at the other tackle, but if anyone can push those two, it is Black.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Best Athlete: Defensive Back, Dallas Golden

When you play both sides of the ball at the level that Golden does, it's clear who the best athlete in this cycle is. It appears Golden is set to play defensive back at Notre Dame when he arrives in South Bend, but it would not shock anyone if offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock lobbied to get Golden some snaps at wide receiver.

All in all, Golden is a special athlete in every sense of the word. He will be playing for the Irish early next season.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Most Underrated: Cornerback, Cree Thomas

At this point, I trust Notre Dame defensive backs coach Mike Mickens blindly, but he has absolutely nailed another evaluation here with cornerback Cree Thomas.

The 6-1, 170-pounder is exactly what Mickens is looking for at corner and it should not shock anyone when Thomas ends up the next great defensive back at Notre Dame after this recent string of Hamilton, Watts, Morrison, Gray and Moore.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Instant Impact: SAF, JaDon Blair

Are you sensing a trend with my defensive back picks? JaDon Blair may be the best of the bunch.

Standing at nearly 6'5 and possessing ridiculous speed, Notre Dame could very well have a Kyle Hamilton re-gen running around patrolling centerfield at safety. Blair is a special, special athlete and the safety position next to redshirt freshman Adon Shuler will be wide open for the taking next season once Xavier Watts departs.

Expect Blair to fill it.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Hidden Gem: Wide Receiver, Elijah Burress

It seems wild that former NFL great Plaxico Burress' son could be flying under the radar as a wide receiver commit, but he definitely is.

Elijah Burress had an outstanding senior season, tallying over 950 yards and 15 touchdowns. He may not contribute right away for a Notre Dame receiver room that I expect to be much improved in 2025, but he is one to watch. He could be special.

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Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

Covered Notre Dame football recruiting since 2017 for Irish Breakdown, Blue & Gold Illustrated and Notre Dame On SI. Covering Notre Dame professionally got me my start in journalism, which led me to getting my degrees in Journalism and Communications from Ball State University in 2021. Featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, Rivals, On3 and more. Have missed multiple weddings and graduation parties for Notre Dame games.

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