Notre Dame picked up a very important commitment today with Austin (Texas) Westlake star wide receiver Jaden Greathouse pledging to the Fighting Irish. Greathouse is an impact player at a position of need, which makes this commitment even more important.

Notre Dame beat out Texas, Oklahoma and South Carolina for the commitment from Greathouse. Let's take a look at how his commitment impacts the Notre Dame 2023 class and the Irish depth chart. 

Greathouse is the 20th player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2023 class. He is also the 10th offensive commit and the third wide receiver to pledge to the Irish in the class. 

Notre Dame expects to only have four scholarships receivers returning to the roster in 2023, so the Irish needed a huge infusion of numbers in the class. Four was the ideal number, and landing Greathouse gets the Irish very close to that need. He joins a class that already included fellow Texas native Braylon James and California standout Rico Flores Jr.

Numbers are just part of the story. Notre Dame also needed wideouts with impact talent, it needed an infusion of playmaking ability and it needed at least two receivers with the ability to come in and play as a true freshman. That is where Greathouse makes arguably his greatest impact in this class. Greathouse has the game, size and strength to make an immediate impact on the depth chart, which was a must in this class.

Notre Dame also needed at least one receiver in the class with the tools to be a volume pass catcher, and Greathouse certainly brings that to the table. 

The final piece to Greathouse's impact on the class is where he is from. Notre Dame has made a concerted effort to get back into the state of Texas, and this is especially true at the skill positions. Greathouse is the fourth native of the Longhorn State to choose Notre Dame, and all four are skill players. Also, all four players are ranked as Top 100 national recruits by at least one service.

I must admit, I had to come around a bit on Greathouse as a player. From the moment I saw him it was obvious he was a great high school player, but I had questions about just how well his game would translate to the next level. My evaluation mistake was viewing how advanced he was as a negative, and I was concerned about just how much growth he would have, but the more I studied Greathouse's game the more convinced I was that his floor and his ceiling were much, much higher.

Greathouse has a very mature game. His football IQ is exceptional both as a route runner and with the ball in his hands, which makes him more effective after the catch than you'd expect from a guy who is 6-2 and 210 pounds and isn't a truly elite athlete. Greathouse knows how to get open in every way. That means he knows how to win at the line, to use body language to manipulate defenders and to use his stem to gain an advantage. 

Greathouse also has a great feel for using his post-break movements to gain separation and to get open. He knows how to leverage his body to shield defenders away from the ball and he knows how to get free against the zone. All of these skills fit perfectly into the slot position in Notre Dame's pro-style offense, and they also project will to the field outside position.

The Westlake star is a very strong player for his age. He's a dominant blocker already, but as I mentioned he can use his body to clear the defender away from the ball. Greathouse shows impressive timing as a pass catcher and he shows top-notch body control when the ball is in the air. Each of these traits fit in perfectly into Notre Dame's boundary receiver spot.

That means Greathouse has parts of his game that fit into all three spots in the offense, which only adds to his value. Expect to see Notre Dame work to use Greathouse in each spot as it looks to get him into matchup advantages.

All of what I wrote above is what I've always felt about Greathouse. Where I have grown to appreciate his game even more, and why he is now a Top 100 player with a five-star upside grade on my board is his athleticism and athletic potential. Greathouse isn't the finished product athletically that I initially thought him to be, and his athleticism is better than my initial feel.

He isn't a burner, but Greathouse has enough speed to get down the field. He reminds me a bit of Javon McKinley in this regard, but Greathouse shows quicker feet and looser hips as a route runner and with the ball in his hands. This makes him a precise route runner, and his athleticism projects much better to the next level than I initially gave him credit for.

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