Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2024 29 2024 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W BY JACK SOBLE O n March 3, a Notre Dame men's lacrosse player wearing No. 14 took a pass near the goal- mouth and whipped the ball behind his back into the net. He pumped his fist and pointed toward the two dozen or so football players on the sideline, who lost their minds at the sight — not just because the goal scorer gave the Irish a 10-5 lead against Maryland, but because he was one of their own. No. 14, of course, was freshman midfielder Jordan Faison. The two- sport athlete is off to a terrific start on the team he originally committed to, scoring 9 goals in his first four games. But come spring ball, Notre Dame's most productive wide receiver in the second half of the 2023 season will focus on making his second year on the gridiron even better than his first. After the Irish first put him on the field at Louisville Oct. 7, which converted his lacrosse scholarship into a football one, Faison caught a total of 19 passes for 322 yards and 4 touchdowns. He became the team's primary slot receiver, a role he'll have a chance to win back in 2024. Fellow sophomore Jaden Great- house, who led Notre Dame in touchdown receptions as a freshman with 5, will have an opportunity to start in the slot, too. Those two and senior Jayden Thomas, who dealt with a lingering hamstring in- jury that derailed his junior season (as did Greathouse), are the only significant contributors returning to the receiver room for 2024. On a mission to overhaul the position after a disappointing and injury-riddled 2023, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman fired wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey and replaced him with Mike Brown. He also dipped into the transfer portal for Beaux Collins (Clemson), Jayden Har- rison (Marshall) and Kris Mitchell (Florida International), who caught 64 passes for 1,118 yards and 7 touch- downs last year. Will it work? The Irish are about to find out. WIDE RECEIVERS POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH ALL OF IT We can guess, but no one outside the Guglielmino Athletics Complex has any idea which three wideouts will start for Notre Dame against Texas A&M Aug. 31. Even the coaching staff won't know for sure until they go through spring ball and fall camp. Odds are it will be some combination of Mitchell, Collins and Thomas on the outside and Faison and Greathouse in the slot, but it should be a relatively open competition among those five. PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Mike Brown (first season) Returning Starters: Sr. Jayden Thomas (12 career starts), So. Jaden Greathouse (5) Departing Starters: Chris Tyree (18) Rico Flores Jr. (6), Tobias Merri- weather (6) Projected New Starters: Gr. Kris Mitchell (27), Sr. Beaux Collins (27) Top Reserves: So. Jordan Faison, Sr. Deion Colzie, So. KK Smith Newcomers: Mitchell, Collins, Gr. Jayden Harrison, Fr. Cam Williams, Fr. Micah Gilbert, Fr. Logan Saldate NUMBERS TO KNOW 3 Wide receivers developed into NFL players at Cincinnati by Mike Brown: Alec Pierce, Tre Tucker and Tyler Scott. Pierce was a second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 draft, while Tucker and Scott were third- and fourth-round picks in 2023, respectively. 99.9 Pro Football Focus grade on deep (20-plus yards downfield) passes for Kris Mitchell last season, which tied for first in the na- tion among wideouts with at least 24 deep targets. You might recognize a few of the seven names he was tied with: Washington's Rome Odunze, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU's Malik Nabers. 232 Was the national ranking for Notre Dame's leading wide receiver Chris Tyree in receiving yards last season. While the Irish have to replace significant production from the 2023 group — and losing Rico Flores Jr. was an unexpected outcome that could hurt them long term — significant change was necessary. Jordan Faison, who started the year on a lacrosse scholarship, came out of nowhere to notch 19 receptions for 322 yards and 4 touchdowns as a freshman receiver for the Irish in 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER ALL EYES ON … GRADUATE STUDENT KRIS MITCHELL Beaux Collins will finish his degree at Clemson and enroll at Notre Dame in the summer, which means Mitchell's performance will be the top wide receiver story of spring ball. Do his skills translate from the Group of Five level to Notre Dame's schedule? Aside from quarterback play, that might be the biggest question as it pertains to the offense's ceiling.