WR Jaden Greathouse Becoming Mr. Clutch for Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s receiver corps has been by committee this year, but that doesn’t mean the Irish haven’t had players step up in key moments.
Sophomore Jordan Faison made clutch catches against Indiana in the opening round of the College Football Playoff as he finished with seven catches for 89 yards.
In the Orange Bowl, it was sophomore receiver Jaden Greathouse, who delivered multiple back-breaking blows to Penn State in the second half on his way to recording the first receiver to top 100 yards in a game for the Irish this season.
The Texas native wasn’t necessarily surprised by his performance as he felt it coming earlier in the day.
“When I woke up, I honestly told myself I was going to have my first 100-yard game,” stated Greathouse. “I had a good feeling about it. We’ve been preparing all week. I had gotten sick earlier in the week. This team has battled through adversity all year with different challenges and struggles, but we’ve been able to face them all.”
Greathouse’s biggest play of the night came in the fourth quarter after Notre Dame gave up back-to-back touchdowns to fall behind 24-17. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder lined up in the slot, juked a Penn State defender to the ground and then caught a beautiful ball from Riley Leonard. Greathouse then proceeded to put a second Nittany Lion on the ground by cutting inside and jogged 20 yards to complete the 54-yard touchdown.
On the drive, Greathouse also made catches of 11 yards and six yards to get Notre Dame out of a tough 2nd-and-14 situation.
“We had been battling all game,” explained Greathouse. “I was trying to figure out what releases worked and how they were playing their leverage. Once I got open, I saw the safety before the ball got to me and it was all about angles.”
That wasn’t the only big play of the night as Greathouse made a contested catch on a slot fade for 17 yards on 3rd-and-9.
On 3rd-and-3, Greathouse might have made the catch to put Notre Dame in the National Title game. It would have been easy to run the ball with 23 seconds left in the game, but the Irish needed to get a few extra yards to help kicker Mitch Jeter.
Leonard rolled out to his left and found Greathouse for a gain of 10 yards. It was a risky call and a pass that likely took the breath of many Notre Dame fans, but Leonard and Greathouse weren’t worried because of the trust they had built over the last year.
“Those were just such surreal moments being in the right spot at the right time and trusting my teammates, but the coaches having the trust to put a ball up to me,” stated Greathouse. “I just knew I had to go win and that’s what I did.”
The must-win mentality goes back to the program embracing being a bunch of savages, according to defensive coordinator Al Golden.
“It’s just a mentality,” Greathouse said. “I think the whole team embodies it, starting with Coach Freeman. That’s something we’ve really been carrying through this whole season, knowing whenever you step on the field with us, it’s’ going to be a problem for you, and you’re going to face and deal with us all night for four quarters.”
It’s also a never-quit mindset. The Irish didn’t play well on either side of the football in the first half, yet no one was nervous or tried to do too much coming out of the break. Notre Dame just went to work.
”Just not to be timid,” Greathouse said of the message at halftime. “We played our half of football all year and they were winning by a touchdown. It was a testament to this team and the grit and determination of this team. We were fearless coming out of half and understood the job we had to do.”
Greathouse will now look to build on the performance in next Monday’s National Championship game against Ohio State.
“It’s such a crazy feeling,” said Greathouse. “It’s surreal. I’m just so thankful.”
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