SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Dreams can make an impact on reality, which is why junior-to-be wide receiver Jordan Faison has shifted his two-sport ratio this spring from almost all lacrosse all the time in 2024 to a balance between football in the spring of 2025 and the sport that brought him to Notre Dame in the first place.
“As I progress further into my career, playing both sports and having the dream of making it to the NFL, you have to make some tough decisions,” Faison said Wednesday after Notre Dame spring football practice No. 7 of 15.
“And one of those decisions was I have to develop more as a receiver, develop my play more. So, what comes with that is having to do a little bit more in spring while also still giving to lacrosse as well.”
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Because of Notre Dame’s deep College Football Playoff run, there were a few weeks this winter, where Faison did neither. The CFP journey, culminating with the 34-23 CFP National Championship Game loss to Ohio State in Atlanta on Jan. 20, ate up the ND football players’ normal break time from football and school.
So, Faison needed a mental break and physical break. The starting midfielder, as a freshman on last year’s national championship squad, missed the first few weeks of lacrosse practice this winter and the first two games of the season.
In the five games since, he’s scored six goals and added two assists for the fifth-ranked Irish (5-2) after amassing 30 goals and eight assists last season in 17 games.
On the football field, the former football walk-on was ND’s fourth-leading receiver in 2024 with 30 catches for 356 yards and a TD while battling through a chronic ankle injury early in the season.
“Man, it's been great just having him here,” Irish receivers coach Mike Brown said. “Love having him around for a number of reasons. Obviously, he's a really good player, but he does a really good job just throughout the room with the morale in the room.
“Kind of sets the tone in the room a little bit with how he goes about his business. So, it's always good having him around. We're just challenging him. Challenging him just to take that next step in his game. Recognizing defenses and then understanding his freedoms and things like that.
“And he's been locked in. He's doing a great job.”
Cam Williams making a move
The shift in Faison’s spring football emphasis, a surge in consistency from junior KK Smith and a strong start from freshman Elijah Burress meant a glut of intriguing options at the field receiver and not so much in the boundary, at least for now.
So, sophomore Cam Williams has moved over to the spot filled last season primarily by Beaux Collins, Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie, all of which have moved on to either the NFL Draft pool or out through the transfer portal.
“It starts out being a learning curve,” the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Williams said of the adjustment. “When you’re on the field side, you have 30 yards of space going down to probably about 10 to 15. That's definitely been a learning curve. I’m obviously glad I’m doing it. It's helped me become a better player.”
He’s always had the pedigree. At No. 48 nationally in the 2024 Rivals250, the Chicago product is the highest-rated wide receiver of the 12 on ND’s 2025 roster. But that didn’t translate into early playing time.
In fact, he played one offensive snap in 16 games for Notre Dame (14-2) last season, that coming in the final moments against Virginia in November.
“Right now I'm just kind of focusing on being here in the moment, here in the spring,” Williams said when asked what he needs to do to move into the playing rotation in 2025. “Doing the best I can to just get better now in the hopes that the future takes care of itself. Really, just focus on right now.”
Right now it’s primarily Williams and early enrollee Jerome Bettis Jr. getting most of the boundary receiver reps, but the competition ramps up this summer when grad transfer Malachi Fields arrives from Virginia and fellow sophomore Micah Gilbert is healthy again.
Gilbert revealed on Wednesday he suffered a broken bone in his right hand during ND’s first practice of the spring, on March 19, and that his recovery timeline is six to eight weeks.
Irish wide receivers coach Mike Brown, though, likes what he has seen so far from Williams in spring practices.
“Cam, to me, feels like a completely different guy this spring than he was last spring,” Brown said. “Now, he still has a ways to go, and this spring will be huge for him. I think he's off to a good start.
“He's got good talent, right? We've played him into the boundary a little bit and he's going against [2024 freshman All-American] Leonard Moore every single play. And so last year I would've never put him in front of Leonard Moore, you know what I mean?
“So it's just good. This experience is going to be really good for him to continue his growth, but he's done a good job. I think he's building some confidence in what he's doing. I'm very pleased with that.”
Logan Saldate competing in the slot
The deepest among ND’s three wide receiver positions this spring is easily the slot receiver, in terms of experience and proven production, neither of which sophomore Logan Saldate has in his favor.
But going against Alabama transfer nickel Devonta Smith in practice every day is helping him progress behind returning starter Jaden Greathouse and Wisconsin grad transfer Will Pauling.
“Honestly, he reminds me of Jordan Clark from last season,” Saldate said. “Not too big but covers the ground really well. Hard to get his hands off you. I definitely think when I'm up against him, I'm pushing myself to the absolute max."
Like Cam Williams, Saldate’s playing time in 2024 was minimal. Just seven snaps for the entire season, all seven coming in a November rout of Florida State.
“He's just soaking in everything from the older guys,” Brown said. “And then he's popping up man, he's making plays. Caught a touchdown the other day in practice. Had a nice one at the beginning today in practice. So he's continuing to stack days, and [getting] better and better.”
Jaden Greathouse with some QB derby perspective
Most of the Irish wide receivers give the standard, generic, non-committal answer when asked about ND’s three-man quarterback competition and how it might impact the wide receiver position group, but junior Jaden Greathouse gave a rather thoughtful response on Wednesday.
"I think it's important to maintain a relationship with all three of them,” Greathouse said of senior Steve Angeli, junior Kenny Minchey and sophomore C.J. Carr. “And make sure that I have a great relationship with all of them.
“No matter who's throwing to me during practice, we always have great chemistry. Whether somebody wins the starting job or not, that doesn't mean they're the starter for the entire season. There's so many things that can happen in the game of football.”
Greathouse is Notre Dame’s leading returning receiver, with 42 receptions for 592 yards amd four TDs. Thirteen of those catches, 233 of those yards and three of those TDs came during ND’s final two games, the CFP semifinal win over Penn State and the title game loss to Ohio State.
“It's important to have that relationship with all of your quarterbacks,” Greathouse said. “I try to think less about the quarterbacks and more about myself and thinking more about how I can be the best version of myself so that no matter who's back there, I can make their job as easy as possible.
“No matter what kind of defense the other team is running or no matter what kind of star defensive ends the other team has, whenever he gets to the back of his drop, I'll be wide open."
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