It’s been some time since Notre Dame could say its wide receiver room was a strength on the team.

With juniors Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison returning and the addition of veteran transfers Malachi Fields and Will Pauling, this might be the year the Irish wideouts do in fact become a strength.

“I think it can be for sure,” says 2nd year wide receivers coach Mike Brown. “You know time will tell. Different years bring different challenges. The thing I love most about this group is that they all are very selfless and they all want to do is win.”

Greathouse led the Irish in receiving yards (592) and touchdown receptions (4) last season and his 42 catches were 2nd only to tight end Mitchell Evans. He ascended in a major way in the biggest of games. Greathouse made seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in the CFP semifinals vs Penn State and then snagged six catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the national championship loss to Ohio State.

While Greathouse was the star of the last 2 games of the playoffs, Jordan Faison was critical in the first two games of the postseason. Faison had 7 catches for 89 yards against Indiana and four catches for 46 yards against Georgia. He was limited for most of the regular season with a nagging ankle sprain.

“I’m playing with clarity,” says a healthy Faison. “No longer have to focus on my ankle or do things around my ankle. It’s full speed ahead and being able to do that and get back to being myself and do what I gotta do.”

For Brown, it’s huge to have two returning receivers who were playing their best at the end of last season.

“Really excited about them—both of those guys have a couple of years under their belt,” Brown said of Greathouse and Faison. “They’re our most experienced guys that have been here and know how things go. They are really good leaders for us in their own way. Seeing where those guys finished the season off last year, really looking forward to building upon that.”

And then you add Fields and Pauling and suddenly Notre Dame could have a very dangerous wide receivers room.

Fields is a big body boundary wide receiver who caught 55 passes for 808 yards and five touchdowns as a junior last season at Virginia. He had nearly the exact same numbers the year before as a sophomore with 58 catches, 811 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

“Coming on my visit, talking to coaches and players, this is a different and special place here,” Fields said of why he chose Notre Dame. “Being the people that they are is what led me here.”

Pauling comes to Notre Dame from Wisconsin where he caught 42 passes for 407 yards and 3 touchdowns last season.

“Besides from obvious speed, the ability to move out of the slot and find windows and make guys miss and separate in 1-on-1 coverage,” the 5-10 Pauling said of what he brings. “I think just the way I play and the effort that I bring–perimeter blocking, I think that’s something I’ve been trying to bring to the room.”

Before Wisconsin, Pauling played at Cincinnati under both Brown and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Entering his 5th year, he and Fields also bring leadership.

“Those guys have played a lot of football,” Brown said of Fields and Pauling. “They’re very, very talented. Malachi brings a threat for us into the boundary. He’s a big target that is very good in contested catch situations. Will, man, is extremely quick and does a great job getting separation in the slot. It’s a good combination of guys to add to the guys that we had.”

Both Fields and Pauling have earned the respect of the underclassmen already in the room.

“It’s big time—they’re both dogs,” Faison says of adding the two veterans. “Their mentality when they come to the facility is through the roof. Malachi you all have seen in the boundary to be able to go up and make plays and Will’s fast and quick like lightning and he understands the game fully.”

Faison said both are great in the blocking game as well when the Irish are looking to run. He said watching and learning from them is very fun.

“Being in my 5th year, I’ve seen a lot and been through a lot,” Pauling says. “Being able to relay that to younger guys in the room so they can understand kind of what to expect, know what to do or what not to do, what worked and what didn’t work for me. I think that helps the room because we have so many guys in the room, older and younger that are so versatile. I think that’s what is going is to be able to help us be a very competitive room this year.”

Pauling believes the Irish will be able to create mismatches at wide receiver.

“Whether its moving Faison in the slot or out of the slot or [Greathouse] from the boundary to the slot, whatever it is, I think that’s what makes this room very special is that you have a lot of guys that are versatile and competitors at the end of the day.”

Notre Dame opens the season on the road at Miami on Sunday, August 31st. We will preview the season and the Miami game Monday, August 25th at 7pm on Pulse FM on the season premiere of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix.