SOUTH BEND — Top-ranked Notre Dame men's lacrosse had 55 players appear in at least one game this spring.
Two of those players, midfielders Jordan Faison and Tyler Buchner, also own MVP trophies from Notre Dame football's last two bowl wins.
“We were both a little rusty,” Faison said. “We joked to each other that we weren't as good as we used to be.”
Buchner, the 2022 Gator Bowl MVP, returned to Notre Dame after spending one year as a backup quarterback at Alabama. He hadn't played competitive lacrosse in recent years until his early days at Bishop's School in La Jolla, California.
Buchner played in three games and collected one ground ball. He is purely focused on lacrosse and his schoolwork this spring.
Faison, who started as a walk-on wide receiver last fall and was named Sun Bowl MVP in 2023, seems to grow more legendary every time he takes the field.
Faison, who is off to a 6-1 start through seven games for the reigning national champions and will play No. 3 Duke on Saturday, ranks third on the team with 14 goals and fifth with 17 total points. There is.
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All of the speedy freshman's goals are equally strong, and only one other Irish top eight scorer can earn this honor. Faison needed just 28 shots to reach his impressive goal total, and his 50% success rate is well above the team's overall mark of 37.8%.
Not bad for a self-proclaimed “flax seed player” who earned a football scholarship after making his memorable debut at Louisville last October. For Faison, who plans to major in finance, this spring has been a juggle between schoolwork, lacrosse, and spring football practice and team meetings.
Although Faison only takes mental reps as a football observer, time and workload management is a daily focus. He found it helpful to have Buchner as a consultant for the lacrosse team.
“It was great,” Faison said. “We came in together in a way. Even though he was older than me, and even though we both had just reached the D1 level in lacrosse, we came from a gap between us. … It was great to have a guy that we could go through that with.”
When Buchner, listed as a junior and wearing his familiar No. 12, gets a chance to take the field, there's no one rooting for him more than Faison.
“He's growing in the game as well,” Faison said. “It was really fun to watch.”
Synergistic effects of 2 sports double
Though best known as a top 50 lacrosse player nationally from Pinecrest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Faison's only solid football scholarship offer came from Iowa State. Michigan State and Penn State also showed some interest in the 5-foot-10, 182-pound slot receiver.
All lacrosse powerhouse schools, including Duke University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, and several Ivy League schools, were three-time All-Americans after their prep games. But it was Notre Dame that recognized Faison's value as a legitimate two-sport prospect.
“They were very open and very cooperative,” Faison said.
Irish football coach Marcus Freeman and lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan, now 36, were on the scene in Philadelphia last spring.th During his season at Notre Dame, he finally won the long-awaited national title.
The synergy between Irish Soccer and Lacrosse's sports performance staff continued this spring.
“At other schools, football and lacrosse and other sports don't have a great relationship,” Faison said. “The relationships between them were huge. At a school where relationships weren't so great, people would say, 'Hey, we don't do that.' They're kind of in control, I guess. ”
Generally speaking, Faison said he compared notes with Maryland senior safety Dante Trader Jr., a top-10 lacrosse player who played in both sports in the 2022-23 school year. .
“I think all he does now is play soccer,” Faison said. “But we talked about the process of it being two sports.”
Faison, who played two sports in college and then played seven lacrosse games, didn't hesitate when asked if he believed this could be more than a one-year novelty.
“At first I didn't think I could do it,” he says. “After football season ended, I thought, 'This is tough,' especially with regards to school. After going through the process this spring, my thoughts have changed. Looking at how things have gone so far, I definitely think so. ”
Despite having a new offensive coordinator in Mike Denbrock and a new position coach in Mike Brown, Faison has managed to avoid being made to feel guilty for letting either sport down. .
“It's been a huge help,” Faison said, pointing to “scheduling changes” made possible by both coaching staffs and daily huddles to review “catapult” measurements and other sports science input. did.
“Jordan did a great job,” Brown said. “Obviously, he plays lacrosse, but he was in every meeting. He takes meetings very well. He's in practice. He's locked in and everything that's going on. I know how he plays. He's right there.”
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'Fabulous Faison' is on track to reunite Notre Dame
Faison's sensational start paved the way for another attractive double.
With younger brother Dylan Faison's recent non-binding lacrosse activities, the Fabulous Faisons could be united at Notre Dame as early as the fall of 2026.
“When he was given the opportunity to come to Notre Dame, he couldn't pass it up,” Faison said. “He jumped off with a gun.”
The younger Faison, a sophomore at St. Andrew's School in Boca Raton, Fla., is a 6-1, 150-pound midfielder. He is also an outstanding receiver on the football team.
“He's great at both,” Faison said last fall. “He's definitely really good. He's got the genes, too. He's taller, but I still handle him.”
Like Jordan before him, Dylan Faison spends his summers with Team 91 Long Island. Team 91 Long Island is an elite youth lacrosse team that competes in top-class competition every time.
“He's his own player,” Jordan Faison said. “He's a very talented person. I would say he's developing very well.”
Another pleasant surprise for Faison was how easily he shook off the aforementioned rust and played such a key role on a team that was a back-to-back championship favorite, suffering its only loss to No. 9 Georgetown in overtime on Feb. 25. That's what I was able to obtain.
“I didn't have a stick in my hand all fall,” Faison said. They helped me get back on track and helped me grow. I am very grateful to them. Its development occurred rapidly. ”
As with most things with Flaxman Faison.
“Sports definitely interact,” Faison said. “It's not just the movement, it's the mental aspect. Reading the defense in both lacrosse and football is similar.”
Faison, who is also blessed with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and quickness in short areas, made it clear there was no need to overcomplicate things when explaining the onslaught of goals.
“I think speed and quickness are definitely a big part of it,” he said of mastering the two-sport slot. “But because I lost (scored) in two-man games, I was able to change up my matchups and win my matchups.”
As for his shooting speed, Faison shrugged it off.
“I'm not sure,” he said. “I think it's pretty tough. Sometimes it doesn't go where you want it to go, but you just try to get it to the net.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is active on social media @MikeBerardino.
