Who is Jordan Faison? Meet Notre Dame two-sport athlete who plays football, lacrosse

Posted by Admin January 20, 2025 Football

Spread the love

Notre Dame’s mantra is to “Play Like a Champion.”

It’s a mantra that Jordan Faison embodies — literally.

For the second time in a 238-day span, Faison will look to win second national championship ring, as No. 7 Notre Dame football takes on No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game.

Wait, what? Notre Dame football hasn’t won a national championship since the 1988 college football season, and hasn’t played for a national championship since the 2013 BCS championship game against Alabama.

Correct statements. But Faison’s first ring didn’t come on the gridiron. It instead came on the lacrosse field, where he helped the Irish finish the job of becoming the first back-to-back national championship since Virginia in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled amid the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic).

Here’s what you need to know about Faison heading into Monday’s game against Ohio State:

Who is Jordan Faison?

Jordan Faison is sophomore multi-sport athlete at Notre Dame.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native is a wide receiver for football and a midfielder for lacrosse at Notre Dame. He enters Monday’s CFP championship game ranked third among Notre Dame’s wide receivers in receiving yards (350) and receptions (29).

After not seeing any action in Notre Dame’s first six games last season, Faison quickly become a contributing member to the Irish’s offense in the slot. Over the final seven games of his freshman campaign, Faison finished with 19 catches for 322 yards and ranked second on the team with four touchdowns.

Faison was named the Sun Bowl’s most outstanding player in Notre Dame’s win over No. 19 Oregon State last year, which came after he posted his first career 100-yard receiving day. After starting the game with a 55-yard catch, Faison finished with five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Faison carried that momentum into this season for the Irish. He was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy this year, which is an annual award that is given to the most outstanding football player in the nation who began his career as a walk-on.

Faison’s best football game this season came in their CFP first-round game against No. 10 Indiana. In Notre Dame’s 27-17 opening round win, Faison finished with a career-high seven catches for 89 yards. On top of his seven catches, Faison contributed in a big way on special teams, returning the second-half opening kickoff 43 yards on the reverse.

“He’s a guy, for us, offensively, that has to touch the football,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said after the game of Faison.

Does Jordan Faison play lacrosse?

Yes, Faison is a midfielder on Notre Dame’s lacrosse team.

As a freshman last season, Faison was an impact player for the Irish, starting all 17 games and helping Notre Dame to back-to-back national championship titles. In Notre Dame’s national championship win vs. Maryland, the 5-foot-10 midfielder finished with a two ground balls and a goal.

Faison totaled 30 points off 22 goals and eight assists on the season, scoring at least one goal in 15 of the Irish’s 17 games. He also had 17 ground balls and six caused turnovers on the season.

“Both sports go hand in hand,” Faison told ESPN’s “College Football Live” on Jan. 6 on how lacrosse helps him in football. “When you’re in football, you got the cornerback lining up in front of you and you got to make moves on him while seeing the back of the defense and safeties rotate.

“Then lacrosse, it’s the same thing (and) same idea. You got to a defender guarding you and you got defenses rotating behind and you got to make decisions based off that. They go hand in hand and pretty much complement each other.”

In an interview with Inside Lacrosse in March — a time of the calendar when lacrosse is well into its regular season and spring practices begin to ramp up for football — Faison spoke about how he is able to handle both.

“It’s definitely crazy,” Faison told Inside Lacrosse. “It teaches me a lot of skills that I’ll use in the future. I’ve wanted this and wanted to be here and with how jam-packed the schedule is you get lost in some of the stress sometimes and all the stuff that’s coming your way. But I’ll take here and there sometimes to stop and look where I’m at with how far I’ve come and that drives me and motivates me because this work you put in, where you’re at now it’s unreal how it’s unfolding before my eyes. That part is pretty surreal.”

Jordan Faison recruitment

When Faison arrived in South Bend and at Notre Dame, he did so as a highly touted lacrosse recruit.

He also was on scholarship just for lacrosse — not football. Faison had been considered a Notre Dame walk-ons when he joined the program.

That all changed in October 2023. In the lead up to Notre Dame’s game vs. USC, the Irish elevated Faison to a scholarship player on their roster.

“He’s been a talented individual from the moment he stepped on this campus in fall camp and he has shown that he has a lot of ability,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “He’s continued to improve throughout the first 6-7 weeks of the season, and because of some injuries, we moved him. He’s gotten better and gained the trust of his coaches.”

Notre Dame’s loss to Louisville was the first game Faison had appeared in at that point of last season. Shortly after learning he had earned a football scholarship, Faison credited his time on the scout team for it.

“I would say [the] scout team definitely helped me a lot,” Faison said. “Going against the ones, we’re still running the same plays that we have on the offensive side … And then getting into the film room during game week. It’s definitely a little different to scout, but it definitely helps when we’re going over the defenses.”

Jordan Faison football stats

Faison enters Monday’s CFP championship game with 29 catches for 350 receiving yards and a touchdown. His lone touchdown of the season came in Notre Dame’s Shamrock-Series game vs. then-No. 19 Army at Yankee Stadium.

Here’s a look at Faison’s stats at Notre Dame for football:

2023: 19 receptions for 322 receiving yards and four touchdowns; two carries for 22 rushing yards
2024: 29 receptions for 350 receiving yards and a touchdown