Entering the College Football Playoff, sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse was third in receiving on Notre Dame. The sophomore from Austin, Texas, was behind graduate wideout Beaux Collins and senior tight end Mitchell Evans with only 247 yards and one touchdown over 11 games. However, Greathouse’s shift in play occurred at the right time as it helped the Irish overcome a 10-point deficit against Penn State and battle back against Ohio State. Greathouse was the only single-game 100-yard receiver this season for the Irish — he did it twice in the semifinal and final. The sophomore receiver finished with six catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the national championship. Greathouse’s efforts were a tremendous part of the late comeback for the Irish that ultimately fell short.
Greathouse's first target came with 12:42 remaining in the third quarter but fell incomplete as senior quarterback Riley Leonard was under pressure. With 3:03 to go in the third quarter, he hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass for his second reception. Greathouse broke a tackle, then spun free of another defender as he raced into the end zone to cut the lead to 31-15.
“We just started to find a rhythm,” Greathouse said of that point in the game after the loss.
After a forced fumble by sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen at the start of the fourth quarter, the Irish took over on offense again, and Greathouse picked right back up where he left off in the third. Greathouse caught a 30-yard pass on third and nine that continued the possession. Then, on a critical fourth and five, Greathouse hauled in an 11-yard pass on fourth down to extend the drive. The Irish decided to kick a field goal that bounced off the upright, resulting in no points, but Greathouse’s contributions helped spread out the Ohio State defense and open more looks for Leonard, who threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
Taking over on their own 20-yard line, the Irish once again began to move the ball on offense. After crossing the 50, Leonard looked for Greathouse again in one-on-one coverage. Fighting through a defender holding one arm that was ruled a pass interference after the play, Greathouse caught the pass with his left arm and pinned it to his body in the end zone. The contested catch brought the Irish within eight points after another two-point conversion. Despite the grim prospects for Notre Dame, which trailed by as many as 24 in the third quarter, Greathouse’s efforts were a large part of the late comeback that brought the Irish within one score at 31-23.
“We were in the game the whole time,” he said after the game.
Greathouse would catch one more pass after Ohio State kicked the field goal to put the game out of reach. Finishing with six catches for a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns, Greathouse posted his best game against one of the premier secondaries in the country.
After finishing an injury-riddled 2023 season with a campaign of 18 receptions for 265 yards and five touchdowns, Greathouse was expected to take on a larger role in 2024. He scored two touchdowns in the 2023 season opener against Navy and had 70 yards and a touchdown on Senior Day against Wake Forest but was not a feature for the Irish in the passing game. With Mike Denbrock taking over at offensive coordinator in 2024, Irish fans expected Greathouse to take a larger jump in Denbrock’s high-powered passing offense. However, through 11 regular season games, Greathouse posted a modest 247 yards and a touchdown. He finished three games with only one reception. With the focus on the running game in the regular season, few thought the passing game would explode in the playoff for the Irish, but it did, and in large part from Greathouse.
Greathouse followed the previous season-high of 105 yards and a touchdown against Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal with an even better national championship performance. Greathouse's timely plays throughout the playoffs included the critical 54-yard touchdown and juke to avoid defenders for the longest passing play of the Irish season and the two touchdowns to attempt the comeback against Ohio State. Not only did Greathouse find success in the semifinal and final, he found it in big moments to help his team convert critical plays.
With quarterbacks senior Steve Angeli and freshman C.J. Carr potentially taking over next season, a more pass-centric offense is likely to take over in South Bend. Greathouse is in a prime position to have a breakout junior season in 2025 and cement himself as one of the most talented receivers in the country in the years to come.
