2023 Rivals100 WR Jaden Greathouse announces Notre Dame commitment
When Chansi Stuckey joined Notre Dame's coaching staff in January, he had one incoming freshman at his disposal and a long road of work ahead.
On Friday, the Irish wide receivers coach's persistence continued to pay off with the addition of his fourth verbal commitment in the last three months.
Four-star wide receiver Jaden Greathouse announced his commitment to Notre Dame's 2023 class. Greathouse, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound rising senior at Austin (Texas) Westlake, chose Notre Dame over fellow finalists Texas, South Carolina and Oklahoma.
Before Stuckey's hiring, Greathouse figured to be a favorite to end up at nearby Texas. However, Notre Dame made up ground quickly to secure its third Rivals250 wide receiver commit in the 2023 class. Greathouse is the highest ranked of the trio as Rivals' No. 69 overall player, No. 9 wide receiver and No. 12 player from Texas.
"(Stuckey) had a big impact (on my decision)," Greathouse told Inside ND Sports before making his commitment public. "He's an amazing coach and person. It's always a good time whenever I get with him. I trust him to develop me into the next great receiver in the (NFL)."
Previously, Stuckey landed four-star recruits Braylon James (No. 31 WR, No. 205 overall) and Rico Flores Jr. (No. 17 WR, No. 106 overall) in the 2023 class. Four-star receiver Cam Williams (No. 11 WR, No. 104 overall) also pledged last month to Notre Dame's 2024 class.
If James, Flores and Greathouse sign in December, it will be the first time Notre Dame added three Rivals250 wide receivers in the same class. About five months until the early signing period begins, the Irish's 2023 class is already the second-best of the Rivals era (since 2002).
"It's a testament to him and his coaching and recruiting," he said. "If we get another high-level recruit at wide receiver — and I think we can, we're going to be the next Wide Receiver U at Notre Dame. I don't see anyone stopping us."
Following the addition of Greathouse, Notre Dame reclaimed its No. 1 spot in the 2023 team rankings with 2,697 points. Ohio State fell to second place with 2,592 points. The Irish also have the No. 1 2024 class with five commits and 735 points.
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The Irish offered Greathouse four weeks after Marcus Freeman's promotion to head coach. Greathouse's offer came following an outstanding junior season that resulted in 66 receptions for 1,274 yards (19.3 yards per catch) and 20 touchdowns in 16 games.
As a sophomore, Greathouse had a career-high 69 receptions in 14 games, totaling 1,145 yards (16.6 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns.
At Notre Dame, Greathouse sees himself replicating his production.
"I'm going to bring a lot of touchdowns and big plays," he said. "I'm not going to get tackled out there easily. I'm going to be making big runs and plays and catching everything that gets to me."
After Greathouse's sophomore season, Baylor was the first school to offer him. Since then, the No. 3 wide receiver in Texas has amassed 15 offers with schools such as Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M and USC, also targeting his talents.
"He's a big physical kid," Prep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. "He not a super blazer but runs well after the catch because he's tough to tackle. He plays against the best competition in Texas, and he's excelled.
"He's a big-time catch for Notre Dame. It's again a compliment to Stuckey for doing a great job of recruiting wide receivers."
The four-star recruit's first trip to South Bend was for the Blue-Gold Game on April 23. Following his first time at Notre Dame, Greathouse had an idea the Irish were the team to beat.
"After my first visit, it was the right feeling," he said. "I had a lot of fun hanging out with the recruits, seeing the coaching staff in person and seeing the culture of Notre Dame. It was special. ... It's something I wanted to be a part of."
He returned to Notre Dame for his official visit from June 17-19. The Irish ultimately had the last say in his decision. Greathouse was supposed to officially visit Texas the next weekend but participated in a high school 7-on-7 tournament instead. Before ND, he also traveled for official visits to Oklahoma (June 3) and South Carolina (June 10).
"I tried to remain open and see what every school had to offer," he said, "not having any preconceived notions. (I wanted) to see what every school can provide and Notre Dame still came out on top."
With Greathouse in the class, he plans to use his efforts to recruit his former middle school classmate and new Irish quarterback target Austin Novosad. On Monday, Notre Dame offered the 2023 four-star from Dripping Springs (Texas) High. James, also from the same area in Texas, has already made his intentions public in ND's pursuit of the No. 9 pro-style quarterback in the class.
Notre Dame hasn't signed a Rivals100 prospect from Texas since four-star tight end Brock Wright in 2017. And Wright was the first to meet that criteria. Both Greathouse and safety commit Peyton Bowen could become the next to do so.
With Rivals250 cornerback Micah Bell also in the class, the Irish have four Rivals250 commits from Texas for the first time. The Irish haven't even signed four recruits from Texas in the same class since at least 2002.
"We're bringing Texas to South Bend," he said. "Texas has some of the best football in the whole country. I feel comfortable with the guys that I'm going with and I can't wait to get out there with them, build relationships and bring home to South Bend."
In addition to Novosad, Notre Dame’s top remaining offensive recruiting targets are four-star wide receiver Ronan Hanafin and four-star running back Jeremiyah Love. Both players have the Irish among their top choices and are mulling a possible summer decision.
On defense, five-star defensive athlete Samuel M’Pemba, safety Caleb Downs and four-star Jaiden Ausberry are the last offered targets.
Notre Dame has 20 commits in the 2023 class with an average star rating of four. All but five of those commits have joined since Freeman was named head coach. And four of those previous commitments came from defensive recruits while Freeman was the coordinator.
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