Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 11, 2025 19 opener at Texas A&M sidelined him for three of the first six games of the sea- son, but the pain associated with it con- tinued to linger at times. "It's very painful, especially at the wideout position," Faison said. "We need our feet, obviously. The pain hurts a lot. You plant wrong one time it shoots up, dang near to your knee. And it's hard to deal with. "I was able to come back four to five weeks after injury, and I got it hurt again. It's like picking at a scab — any little minor tweak at it is going to get it hurt again." Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has taken advantage of Faison's health this season. Faison caught 19 passes for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first four games of the season. No other Irish player had more than 13 receptions. From the start of the season Carr had faith in Faison as a receiver he can throw to at any moment. He joked that Faison must have "a lucky clover in his back pocket," because he is always in the right place at the right time doing what's needed from him. Faison worked hard to perfect his footwork and technique with his fel- low receivers in the offseason and in practice. It's shown up repeatedly on Saturdays. "My footwork has gotten better in my routes," Faison said. "I am able to be more deceptive in my routes. Pushing every route like it's a go and being able to snap-off quick within our route tree. I think that's been a big development." That's why Faison always seems to be open when he runs shorter routes. Cor- nerbacks have to be cognizant of his abil- ity to beat them deep like he did against Purdue on a 48-yard touchdown recep- tion from Carr. But short routes don't necessarily mean short plays from Faison. "When you get the ball in his hands, he has the body control to make a guy miss, and he's always falling forward," Carr said. "It's just our Mr. Consistent." The yards after catches have piled up for Faison this season. Of his first 244 receiving yards, 134 of them came after he caught those passes. "I'm able to get open," Faison said, "he gets me the ball, and we're able to roll on from there." MAKING A DIFFERENCE WITH HIS MINDSET Jordan Faison probably didn't need to throw the ball to redshirt senior wide receiver Malachi Fields in order to convert the fourth-and-10 on which the Irish drew up a fake punt against Arkansas. Faison had plenty of green grass ahead of him after receiving the reverse from junior running back Jeremiyah Love, and he's elusive enough to avoid defenders trying to track him down. But throwing the ball to Fields as the play was intended allowed it to be an even bigger play. "It's a little bit nerve-wracking," Fai- son said, "but it's a little fun at the same time, because you know you have to throw the ball. That's not really some- thing you do every day, but you're getting the chance to do it. The play worked to perfection. Throwing the ball was fun." That wasn't Faison's first throw in a Notre Dame game. He completed a pass to wide receiver Beaux Collins for a two-point conversion in January's loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Faison played quarterback at Fort Lau- derdale (Fla.) Pine Crest School, but he did so as a run-first threat rather than an accurate passer. If offensive coor- dinator Mike Denbrock wants to bring back the Wildcat formation to Notre Dame's offense, perhaps having Faison receiving the snap might make sense. Until his number is called in other ways in the running game, Faison is content with contributing as a blocker. "I think perimeter blocking is mostly a mindset," Faison said. "You get taught techniques from [wide receivers] Coach [Mike] Brown but at the end of the day it's a mindset. You have to go in there and want to go make the block. "I feel that's what all of us receivers have. We want to go get those blocks and make a big play pop. That's fun. That's the sport. It's the sport we love, and we're going to do that every time." Whether its catching, blocking, run- ning, throwing or any other special teams task given to him, Faison can be counted on. "He is two C's: competitive and con- sistent," Freeman said. "You know he's going to be exactly where he's supposed to be. He's going to block exactly who he's supposed to block every opportu- nity he gets. That gives a quarterback confidence that, 'I know exactly where Jordan Faison is going to be. If I decide to throw it to him, it's probably going to be a successful outcome.' "That's a credit to the way he works and prepares. He's a consistent com- petitor." ✦ "He is two C's: competitive and consistent. You know he's going to be exactly where he's supposed to be. He's going to block exactly who he's supposed to block every opportunity he gets." NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN ON FAISON Through Notre Dame's first four games, Faison was led the Irish in receptions (19), and was second in receiving yards (244) and touchdown catches (2). PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER