Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546639
18 SEPT. 26, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE L iam Entenmann remembers the moment that encapsulates Jor- dan Faison. It was seconds after Notre Dame men's lacrosse claimed its second con- secutive national title, back in May 2024. Faison, then a freshman, sprinted onto the field to celebrate. In the chaos, he saw graduate student Danny Parker running next to him. It stuck with Entenmann, the goalie on both championship teams, that Faison put his arm around Parker as the party started in Philadelphia. "This kid was a fifth-year senior transfer from University of Virginia who didn't play very much, and then you have Jordan, who's a first-line midfielder, two-sport phenom," Entenmann told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It didn't matter what that kid's background was. Doesn't matter what his spot on the depth chart was. He's just his teammate." It's a subtle thing. But subtle is Fai- son's style. He didn't even know he was consid- ered a leader on the football team until strength coach Loren Landow brought it up this summer, telling him he had "a lot of pull" among his peers. Lo and behold, Faison wore a "C" on his chest for the 2026 season opener when the Irish took on Wisconsin on Sept. 6 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Since 2000, Faison is the fifth Notre Dame football captain who began his ca- reer as a walk-on. It's been a remarkable rise for the wide receiver who came to South Bend primarily for lacrosse, but there were signs it would happen when he starred as a midfielder from 2024-25. "He wouldn't talk a ton," star attack- man Chris Kavanagh said. "But every time he said something, people were listening, because you know he needed to get a point across." HUMBLE IN UN-HUMBLE CIRCUMSTANCES When Faison joined the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team in January 2024, his teammates didn't know what to expect. Coming off their first national cham- pionship in program history, the Irish weren't exactly lacking for leadership. They had Pat Kavanagh, who won the Tewaaraton Award (lacrosse's Heisman Trophy) that year, and his brother Chris, who was a Tewaaraton finalist a year later. Entenmann, a Tewaaraton finalist himself, is considered one of the best goalies in men's college lacrosse history. Here comes Faison, fresh off a foot- ball season that ended in a Sun Bowl MVP performance. To state the obvious, lacrosse would be an adjustment. "We do get treated very, very well," Entenmann said. "It's not the same as football, for obvious reasons. How was he gonna handle that? How was he gonna handle sharing a locker? How was he gonna handle not having meals made for him, like I'm sure they do in football facilities?" Faison was quiet, which Enten- mann said some of the veterans took as "aloofness" at first. He remembers the night they knew they were mistaken. BORN LEADER Jordan Faison's lacrosse teammates saw a future captain