WR Jaden Greathouse Embraces Rise in Competition at Notre Dame
Jaden Greathouse arrived at Notre Dame in January following one of the most impressive prep careers you’ll see, especially when you consider it was against some of the best competition in the country.
The Westlake (Texas) star finished his career with 232 receptions for 4,035 yards and 70 touchdowns to go alongside three State Championships at the 6A level.
That’s in the past and Greathouse is now looking to build off an impressive spring and Blue-Gold Game that saw him record 11 catches for 118 yards.
“It’s been great,” Greathouse said of preseason camp. “It feels really similar to spring. Just feels like another day in the offense. Coach (Chansi) Stuckey has been pushing us really hard trying to bring out the best in us. That’s definitely what’s been happening.
“Me, Bray (Braylon James), Reek (Rico Flores Jr.), all the newcomers have been making tremendous strides and really excelling. I’m proud of everybody.”
During fall camp, Greathouse was mainly running with the second team, but the Notre Dame staff also made sure to get the freshman receiver time with the first team at times, which means the Texas native was facing one of the best secondaries in the country over the last month.
The rise in competition is something Greathouse hasn’t run from as he’s embraced the challenge.
“It’s not easy at all,” explained Greathouse. “Our DBs are elite talents. Every single one of them. I can say for certainty we have one of the best defenses in the nation. Being able to go up against guys like that every single day, it challenges you a lot.
“At the end of the day, the higher competition you’re playing the better player you’re going to be. That’s exactly what’s happening here.”
Notre Dame released its first depth chart of the 2023 campaign on Monday and while you should take it with a grain of salt at times, it’s hard to not to see Greathouse’s name as the No. 2 slot behind Chris Tyree.
It’s a position some might not have projected for the 6-foot-1, 204-pounder as a few programs viewed him as a tight end at times during his recruitment, but Greathouse has excelled in the spot under the tutelage of Stuckey.
“I feel comfortable anywhere on the field,” stated Greathouse. “I like the slot a lot. There is a lot of opportunity that comes in route running. There are a lot of different routes in the tree that we have from the slot. It just really brings out the creativity in my route running and I love it a lot.”
Stuckey has seen tremendous growth in Greathouse going from being overwhelmed trying to learn 85-90 passing concepts in the spring to finding comfort in the offense coming out of fall camp.
“In the beginning it's rough,” Stuckey explained. “Then a couple of months later, like 'I kind of got it'. But there's still another level to go to and those guys have been great. You're able to coach them hard, able to give them the details and they respond well to adversity.”
Greathouse’s growth didn’t happen because he has over 30 practices under his belt. The ascension has taken place because of the work behind the scenes,
“I would say we’re pretty far along,” Greathouse stated. “We’ve been getting a lot of good looks out there in practice. Coach Stuck is in the film room really teaching us what to do against certain coverages, how to do it and why we do it. That’s super crucial. He’s been doing a good job teaching us.”
Stuckey gave Greathouse and Flores perhaps the biggest compliment he can give as he has to remind himself they are both freshmen.
“They've been here a while,“ said Stuckey. “It's just the second semester in college. You just have to really push those guys to be the best version of themselves and get them back to the confidence that they had in high school. Hey, this is the reason you're here. No one's a two or three, like you're a one just in waiting. So, having that mentality and I think those guys have embraced it.”
The compliments are nice, but Greathouse knows he and his classmates haven’t arrived, which is what drives them every day.
“It just comes down to why we’re doing it and our will,” Greathouse said. “At the end of the day, they’re playing great defense but we still have to go out there and make plays.
“If you want a spot, you’ve got to show that you deserve it and you’ve earned it. Me and Reek and Bray and all the other guys are coming in here and having that mentality first.”
And yes, Notre Dame is known for it’s physicality and strong run game, but Greathouse hopes to show the Irish offense can also be pass-driven.
“I definitely think me and all the receivers want to come in and change the narrative,” he explained. “We want to throw the ball. We want to have multiple 1,000-yard receivers. Everything that all these other schools — all these other ‘WRUs,’ to say — are doing. That’s what we want to bring here and that’s what we’re going to bring here.”
