From walk-on afterthought to postseason hero, the versatile speedster has defied expectations to lead the Irish receiving corps and cement himself as CJ Carr’s most reliable target.
Despite going into his 5th season at the helm, head coach Marcus Freeman is experiencing a lot of 'firsts' in the 2026 season. This is the first time in his tenure that all three coordinators return. This is the first time in his tenure that he has a returning starting quarterback. This is the first time in his tenure that he's had two returning captains. This is also the first time in his tenure that he has a returning No. 1 wide receiver.
Over the last couple of seasons, the projected No. 1 receiver in Notre Dame's offense were portal players. In 2024, it was Beaux Collins who transferred in from Clemson. For the majority of the season, statistically, he was the go-to target. But once they got into the postseason, two receivers from the 2023 recruiting class emerged as the top targets on offense. Rising sophomores Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison became two focal points in the offense during the playoffs.
Last season, Malachi Fields was thought to be the No. 1 receiver. He transferred in from Virginia after four years of really good production. His presence in the boundary left a lot of fans and analysts, myself included, content that quarterback CJ Carr in his first year as a starter had a certified go-to target in the boundary. For some of the season, Fields was the go-to target, but when everything was said and done, Faison was the team's leading receiver with 40 receptions, 640 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Faison's journey in South Bend has been one to follow. As a true freshman, he was an after thought because he was a walk-on, but one touchdown catch during their road loss to Louisville started to turn his fortunes around. Prior to their game against the Cardinals, Faison didn't have a single catch on the year. He finished the Louisville game with two catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. In the remaining six games of the regular season, the Faison finished with 17 catches for 274 yards and three touchdowns.
The Florida native's final game of his freshman campaign ended up being a five-catch, 115-yard, one-touchdown performance against a ranked Oregon State team in the Sun Bowl. Many were excited about his output in 2024, but injuries hampered his overall production. Thankfully, he returned to health just in time for the playoffs where he had two breakout performances against Indiana and Georgia. In those two games, he recorded 11 catches for 135 yards.
Coming into 2025, Faison was, once again, considered an after thought due to Fields' arrival and Greathouse's spectacular end to the College Football Playoffs. But the 5-10, 183-pound receiver didn't wait long to get going. He had five receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown in their season opener against Miami. Two weeks later, he caught five passes for 105 yards and a touchdown against Purdue. Then, in back to back games, Faison had seven catches for 89 yards against Arkansas on the road and six catches for 83 yards against Boise State.
He finished the season on a high note on the road against Stanford hauling in three catches for 68 yards and one touchdown. The Carr-Faison connection grew throughout the season. This offseason, Faison elected to forgo playing lacrosse and solely focus on football which was a major decision. That decision ended up paying off and he's starting to fine-tune his game and take that next step as a premier player in this offense.
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