Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse is OUT vs. Boise State with hamstring injury

Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse made one of the more underrated plays of the Fighting Irish season a week ago at Arkansas when he went up for a jump ball after running a slot fade to the sideline, came down with the ball and tapped a foot in bounds to complete the process of the catch.

He won’t have a chance to mesmerize us all this weekend vs. Boise State like he did then.

Greathouse is out of Saturday’s game against the Broncos with a hamstring injury. Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily first reported the news. A source confirmed it with Blue & Gold.

Greathouse has been Notre Dame’s No. 1 slot receiver through the first four games of the season. He’s played 112 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and it’s been a steady volume of them outside of only playing 17 against Purdue because the Irish incorporated a heavy dose of 12 personnel (an extra tight end on the field, subbing in for the slot receiver).

Greathouse opened the season by playing 39 snaps against Miami and 32 against Texas A&M. He was on the field for 24 at Arkansas. To show for it, Greathouse has only been targeted 8 times this season. For reference, Notre Dame’s top wideouts at the other two receiver positions, Jordan Faison and Malachi Fields, have been targeted 25 and 22 times, respectively.

Greathouse has 4 receptions for 72 yards and 0 touchdowns this season. For his career, he has 64 catches, 930 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was Notre Dame’s best pass-catching option in the two biggest games of the 2024 season against Penn State in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State in the national championship game. In those two matchups, Greathouse went for 13 catches, 233 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The receiving statistics don’t tell Greathouse’s whole story. He’s a willing and able run-blocker, as evidenced by him manhandling the opposition on one of Jeremiyah Love’s two touchdowns against Purdue. If the Irish elect to run on the edge with either one of their two supremely talented tailbacks, Love or Jadarian Price, you’ll often find Greathouse blocking his tail off on the perimeter to spring them free.

Without Greathouse, Notre Dame will invest most of the slot receiver opportunities in Wisconsin transfer and team captain Will Pauling. He also has 8 targets this season, but he’s only played 78 offensive snaps. He caught his first and only touchdown pass of the season last week at Arkansas and has 7 catches for 95 yards and that one score this season.

Blue & Gold’s Jack Soble contributed to this report.