Notre Dame injury report: WR Jaden Greathouse available for first time since September

If Notre Dame wants to play wide receiver Jaden Greathouse against Syracuse on Saturday, the Fighting Irish can finally do so. The junior wide receiver is healthy and available for the first time since September.

Greathouse has been battling a hamstring injury for the better part of two months, and he hasn’t played in a game since Sept. 27 at Arkansas. He was removed from Notre Dame’s injury report Thursday, though, which is a huge sigh of relief for him and the program.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see him on the field in the final regular season game in South Bend of the year, though.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday the plan is to sit Greathouse for the final two games of the regular season to preserve his redshirt. Greathouse has not taken a redshirt season to this point in his career because he was such an integral part of the Irish offense in 2023 and 2024, and he’s only played in four games this season. That’s the limit for anyone to play and still be able to take a redshirt year.

Given that Notre Dame is a massive favorite in the final two regular season games of the season, it makes sense for Greathouse to keep waiting and return in the postseason — which is looking more and more like it will be another trip to the College Football Playoff for the Irish.

Freeman doubled down on Notre Dame’s plan for Greathouse on Thursday.

“When he finally got to the point where he felt like he could help our team and play at a high level because of his health, I kind of had a discussion with him and Coach Denbrock and the offensive staff, what’s best for the team but also what’s best for the young person?” Freeman said. “We have two games left and if we don’t have to play him, it would give him another year because he didn’t redshirt. So we want to be able to do that.

“And so, we want to try to treat him like the other freshman. You want to play four games and not obviously burn the redshirt. If something happens and we feel like we have to put him in the game, then we will. And he will be the first one to say, ‘Put me in coach. If you need me to out there to help our team win, then—’ He’s a team first guy. I want to try as best as we can to not burn his redshirt, if we can, in the last two games.”

Greathouse has 4 catches for 73 yards this season and 64 for 930 and 9 touchdowns in his career. He had 13 catches for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns combined in the Orange Bowl and national championship game last winter.

The rest of the Notre Dame injury report

Nobody is listed as questionable. The following players are listed as OUT.

No. 92 K Noah Burnette – right hip
No. 87 TE Cooper Flanagan – left achilles
No. 56 OL Charles Jagusah – left arm
No. 77 OL Peter Jones – left ankle
No. 97 DL Gabriel Rubio – left elbow
No. 74 OL Billy Schrauth – left knee
No. 59 DL Sean Sevillano Jr. – left ankle