When Mike Brown was named the wide receiver coach before the 2024 season, he took over a position group that had become much maligned in the eyes of Notre Dame fans.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
For too long, it felt as if the Fighting Irish struggled to consistently have difference-makers on the outside, with extraneous factors such as coaching and consistent quarterback play also contributing to big vertical plays becoming a dormant part of the offense.
In addition to the hiring of Brown, Notre Dame dipped into the transfer portal for some fresh faces in hopes of turning things around. Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell, and Jayden Harrison all came to South Bend for their senior seasons, joining Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse who had both flashed potential in their freshman campaigns with the Irish the prior year.
In Brown's first go as the leader of that group, the numbers do not jump off the paper, but it is undeniable that his wide receiver room showed up in some of the biggest moments of the season. There is more improvement to be made, but the groundwork laid in 2024 was the first step in returning Notre Dame's WRs to major threat status. Let's look at where the film shows some of the biggest jumps were made.
Release: The ability to fight through contact at the line and quickly accelerate and stem.
Beaux Collins takes a bit of a hesitation release here, which throws off the timing of the jam by the defensive back. Collins is able to quickly get a step on the corner and sell the vertical route which forces the defender to start to bail. Collins then sinks his hips and breaks off for a comeback creating plenty of separation.
Staying in the same game versus Stanford, Kris Mitchell is facing press man from right outside the five-yard line. He does a great job of taking a fake jab step outside to win on his inside release, leading to an inaccurate jam by the DB, only being able to make contact on Mitchell's outside shoulder. Mitchell quickly stems his route and creates the space needed to secure the touchdown grab on the slant.
In the Orange Bowl, Jaden Greathouse made one of the most memorable catches in Notre Dame history, and it was due to his initial release. After motioning Jordan Faison down, Greathouse is given a great deal of space to work with on his release. He uses his shiftiness at the line and takes a hard step inside which gets the DB off balance to the point that when Greathouse gets vertical towards the numbers, the cornerback is on the ground and there is nothing but green grass in front of him. This play is also a great example of YAC (Yards After Catch) as Greathouse is able to stop on a dime which allows the safety to go right past him so that he can take it the rest of the way to the house.
Contested Catching: Showing concentration and the ability to catch through contact.
Beaux Collins set the tone for the season with this catch vs Texas A&M in week one. The cornerback for A&M does a good job of staying in phase with Collins and never lets him create separation on the back shoulder throw. Collins is still able to adjust his frame and go up with strong hands to grab the ball with the DB draped all over him. He shows good body control, making sure to get a foot down and control the catch through the ground. It was a big-time play in a hostile environment and you can see the emotion from Collins after the play.
Greathouse's touchdown in the Orange Bowl will be the play engraved in everyone's memory but this reception to set up the game-winning field goal was just as crucial. Greathouse shows good courage/concentration in this moment. Penn State decided to bring an all-out blitz on third down and play man behind it. Greathouse working from the slot, finds a soft spot to sit down right between two defenders. The cornerback flashes in the passing lane at the last second and gets a hand up but Greathouse is able to highpoint the ball and look it into his hands and does not worry about absorbing contact from the safety on the back end. It picks up a critical first down and helps set up the Mitch Jeter kick that sent the Irish to the National Championship.
In the Championship itself, Greathouse continued his playoff hot streak and showed another case of being able to grab a contested ball when the stakes are high. During Notre Dame's furious comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter, Greathouse ran a slot fade for a touchdown. Greathouse was never able to fully stack the DB so it was a very tight window for Riley Leonard to drop it into. Greathouse fought through the early contact from the corner that drew a flag, tracked the ball over his shoulder, and brought it in with one hand with the corner hanging off of him. You will not find many better examples of a receiver making a contested catch than this one, and Greathouse could be due for a huge season next year.
Hands: Showing Dexterity, Concentration, and Ball Tracking Skills
The most basic but important trait of being a successful wide receiver is having good hands. There are two examples on opposite ends of the spectrum that highlight this trait from this past year.
Jayden Harrison is the point man of the bunch formation here and runs a corner route versus a Cover 2 look by FSU. Riley Leonard puts a little extra air on the pass and Harrison has to go up and high point the ball near the sideline. He does an excellent job of adjusting his frame and tracking, and although this is an inconspicuous play in a lower-stakes moment, it speaks to the different things every player brought to the position this past season.
Where Harrison went high, Jordan Faison went low in the above play. Leonard is never able to step into his throw because of the contact by the defender so the pass is left woefully short. Faison maintains concentration while going to the ground, and gets his hands underneath the ball, ensuring there is no movement and no chance for the refs to call an incomplete pass. Faison had an outstanding playoff debut and this may have been his most impressive catch.
Route Running/Awareness: The ability to win 1 on 1 matchups by getting in and out of breaks quickly with proper depth and leverages, as well as displaying the ability to find a void and settle when playing against Zone Coverage.
Faison is 1 on 1 on the outside here and makes the most of his opportunity. He quickly eats up the cushion versus the off coverage without drifting towards the numbers which gives him more space to work with. Faison runs a textbook post-corner route, selling the post with a couple of hard steps inside, forcing the corner to flip his hips and commit. Once that happens, Faison shifts his weight back outside without breaking stride and gets his head around. The pass was delivered a little late and was a tad underthrown but Faison created so much separation on his initial break that it was still a relatively easy touchdown for him.
We have seen Faison win against man, and here he is showing excellent feel against zone. With a defender dropping underneath Faison when he comes out of his break, Faison subtly begins to slide and uncover himself while keeping his eyes on Leonard who is rolling out at this point. He finds a soft area to sit down and Leonard is able to find him for the first down. Plays like this show the processing ability of Faison and what makes him such a reliable receiver.
Above is another example of good awareness and understanding. Stanford runs a cornerback blitz, so the safety rotates over to fill the void left by the blitzer. Once Collins recognizes the safety bailing he knows it is nothing but open space and takes off vertically up the seam. The underneath defender that is supposed to take Collins has no chance as Collins blows by him off the line and it results in a huge gain that probably should have been a touchdown but Collins had to slow down and wait for the ball.
Heading into 2025, wide receiver finally feels like a position to be excited about again. It feels like Jaden Greathouse is on the verge of a breakout season and Jordan Faison is as reliable as it gets from the slot position. Notre Dame went back to the portal and picked up Malachi Fields from Virginia who has back-to-back seasons of 800+ yards with less than stellar QB play, and Will Pauling from Wisconsin who is looking to get back to his 2023 form. In addition, one would assume that the change in quarterback in 2025 will lead to a more receiver-friendly offense. Riley Leonard will go down in Notre Dame history for helping lead Notre Dame to their first title appearance since 2012, but the use of his legs was such a focal point of the offense that the passing game at times took a back seat. If Mike Brown can continue to cultivate the talent he has at his disposal, then now would be a good time to buy stock in the Notre Dame passing attack for 2025 and beyond.
Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun
תגובות