Penn State football moving quickly to backfill recent 2025 decommitment

Losing a committed prospect in your recruiting class is a tough pill to swallow. However, losing one prospect to replace them with a higher-rated player could be the best-case scenario for both parties. Penn State football finds itself in this position after losing 2025 recruiting class member Omari Gaines due to a sudden decommitment. Now, JaDon Blair has shown a significant interest in the Nittany Lions. But can James Franklin and Penn State seal the deal?

Penn State football moving quickly to backfill recent 2025 decommitment

JaDon Blair is currently ranked the No. 5 player in North Carolina in the 2025 recruiting class. The four-star safety, who stands at 6 foot 4, 190 pounds, is a native of Winston Salem, NC, and is the No. 13 safety in the 2025 cycle. Blair has been narrowing down his college choices and has set his top 10 schools.

According to Chad Simmons of On3, Blair’s top 10 includes Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and Penn State. Now, the interesting thing about Blair is he currently holds a crystal ball to Notre Dame, according to 247Sports. However, that was placed in early February by Tom Loy.

Blair has an official visit set with the Penn State football team on June 21st, allowing the Nittany Lions to make one last push to secure this potential star.

Breaking: 4-star JaDon Blair names his Top 10 schools.

Blair gives the latest: https://t.co/bEpiphBY1k pic.twitter.com/7l96bc22ek

— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) March 1, 2024

Blair could be the replacement for Omari Gaines

The 2025 recruiting class took a hit on Friday when Omari Gaines announced he would be decomitting from Penn State. He was the longest-standing commit in the cycle before this announcement. Like Gaines, JaDon Blair plays safety. With mutual interest between school and player, this could be the perfect match.

Omari Gaines is the second prospect to decommit from James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in the 2025 recruiting cycle. In September, four-star NJ OL Jaelyne Matthews parted ways with Penn State football after being committed for nearly eight months. While the goal is always to land the top talent, the Nittany Lions need to be able to pivot when needed in the recruiting world.

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