On Wednesday, Jaden Greathouse made his commitment to Notre Dame official from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. After heavy recruitment from Chansi Stuckey and an official visit in June, the wide receiver announced his verbal commitment July 15. Greathouse visited once more after that and now, he has converted his word to reality.
According to Rivals, Greathouse ranks as the No. 85 player nationally. He’s also the No. 18 player in Texas and No. 13 in the country at wide receiver. He received a 5.9 rivals rating as a four-star recruit and he sits in the middle of their “All-American Candidates” bracket. He received offers from 15 schools including USC and Michigan and visited Alabama and Clemson in addition to those. Of his 15 offers, Greathouse visited four, including Notre Dame. He only took official visits to South Carolina and Oklahoma outside of the Irish. He did visit the in-state Longhorns on four occasions. After a third visit to Notre Dame though, the wide receiver stopped looking elsewhere.
Greathouse has the potential to be an asset to the Irish on all fronts. He averages 17.4 yards a catch across 232 catches and 67.3 yards per game in his career. He has 53 receiving and seven rushing touchdowns. Greathouse and the Westlake Chaparrals won the 2019 and 2021 6A/D2 Texas State titles. They won a state title in 2020 as well, but the school was 6A/D1 that year. In his senior year alone, Greathouse had 915 receiving yards and 418 yards across kick returns and punt returns. That came after back-to-back seasons with more than 1,100 receiving yards.
There are several ways for Notre Dame to use Greathouse early on. Rivals Notre Dame recruiting analyst Kyle Kelly cites a couple other reasons he might see the field quickly.
“He played with Cade Klubnik (the backup quarterback at Clemson), and he put together some really good stats his first three years,” Kelly said. “He’s a Texas receiver, playing at the highest level, having had a Power 5 quarterback throwing him passes. He should be able to step in right away.”
Fellow four-star recruits Rico Flores Jr. and Braylon James join Greathouse in the 2023 Irish recruiting class, as does three-star recruit Kaleb Smith. The four of them will enter a wide receiver room that’s looking to become a stronger weapon for the offense. Tobias Merriweather joined the receiver corps last year as a four-star. According to Kelly, slight concern over his mastery of the playbook is all that kept him off the field. Even so, toward the end of the season, Merriweather started to become a stronger option for Irish quarterback Drew Pyne prior to an injury.
Kelly says there’s more than enough room for Greathouse and company to make a splash. Stuckey and the Irish coaching staff will have competition at the position, and the receivers will look to a new face under center.
“They can put some pressure on some of those sophomore and soon-to-be junior receivers who are expected to take a big leap,” Kelly said. “Even if they’re not seeing playing time immediately, they’ll be right on the heels of guys like Deion Colzie, Lorenzo Styles.”
If Greathouse doesn’t line up with the offense immediately, Notre Dame fans could see special teams play from the 6-foot-1, 210-pound commit as a punt returner. Either way, it’s likely he’ll be a name Irish fans know early.
Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu
