WR Jordan Faison Embracing Significant Role for Notre Dame
Jordan Faison had anything but a normal freshman year.
The Florida native had to wait until the first weekend of October to find a spot on the field for the Fighting Irish and Faison showed he was ready for the bright lights of college football by making two catches for 48 yards and one touchdown against Louisville.
Fast-forward a few months, and Faison was raising the Sun Bowl MVP trophy as he recorded five receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown in the win over Oregon State.
A few days later, Faison started his lacrosse season for Notre Dame and went on to start all 17 games on the 2024 National Championship team.
Now, as he starts his sophomore season, Faison will look to turn heads again. He’ll be able to lean on his knowledge of what it takes to win a championship as the Fighting Irish enter the year with high expectations.
“I’d say the biggest thing is attention to detail,” explained Faison. “It starts in the locker room and that was the biggest thing in the lacrosse locker room. Kind of keeping the locker room clean and everyone cleaning up their own trash and your helmets had to be a certain way and that kind of detail translates from in the locker room and off the field to on the field.
“You pay attention to those details and that goes a long way. It might not seem like it, but it goes a long way, and that ultimately helped us get to the national championship.”
One significant change for Faison this fall will be playing field receiver, as he worked mostly out of the slot as a freshman.
Faison has embraced the new spot and it appears to be a good move as he enjoys working with more space.
“It’s kind of a different world out there,” said Faison. “A lot more space to work with than in the slot, but it’s helped me grow as a player. Playing against our cornerbacks is a big feat, so that’s definitely helped me. Knowing the whole field and the whole concepts has been a great help.”
The position also caters to Faison’s speed and his elite ability to make defenders miss, which was also seen on the lacrosse field in the spring.
“100 percent,” Faison stated when asked if field plays to his game. “I’m able to make moves more and make a move running with it. It’s kind of my thing.”
Notre Dame receivers coach Mike Brown believes Faison can be a significant problem for defenses in more space, but he expects him to work out of the slot at times, too.
“He's got good speed, he's got good change of pace and he's really, really good after the catch,” explained Brown. “With the way that I kind of look at it, to be honest, is our two guys, the slot and the field guy, they do a lot of the same jobs, right? We'll switch formations around, where all of a sudden he's in the slot.
“I want their abilities to be at least somewhat similar, but he's a unique player, man, with unique ability after the catch and tracks the ball well. He understands how to move people. I think you know him playing that position and playing the slot - just depending on what we want to do with him, we can gain some advantage there.”
On paper, Notre Dame’s receiver room appears to have considerable depth entering the 2024 season.
Faison has felt the depth on the practice field and hopes it translates to the game as guys can play harder knowing there are bodies to rotate as opposed to a year ago at times.
“When you’re on the field, you get your certain amount of plays, you’re able to attack 100 percent,” stated Faison. “You come off, watch the next guy go and just be supportive of your teammate while you’re watching. Kind of get mental reps from him and then you’re back on. It’s great.”
Outside of depth, Faison has also noticed various skill sets from the receiver room, which is essential for any team. In Notre Dame’s case, it will allow Mike Denbrock to expand the offense but also cater to favorable matchups week to week, and that’s not something the Irish could do at times in previous years.
“We have everything,” said Faison. “We have the big guys, the fast guys, the quick guys. We can hit you from every angle. We can attack zone, attack man, and I think it’s a testament to what we’ve developed over the years. We’ve just got guys that can just ball and that’s a big thing.”
Another job Faison is looking to win is as a punt returner. Faison returned two punts for 28 yards in 2023 and hopes to get a shot at making plays for Marty Biagi’s unit this fall.
“It’s fun,” Faison said. “I mean, ball in the air is a little bit scary. You can’t see the defense coming, but once the ball’s in your hands, it’s like, ‘Now it’s time to make a play.’”
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