Westlake’s Jaden Greathouse hopes to be Notre Dame WR great
AUSTIN, Texas (BVM) – With an ongoing streak of 48 straight wins, the target on Westlake’s back has continued to grow throughout the 2022 high school football season. As the Chaparrals aim for a fourth straight trip to AT&T Stadium, teams around the state are gunning for their chance at knocking off the defending champs.
With three state titles since his high school arrival, no one has embodied the success of the program more than senior captain Jaden Greathouse. The 6-foot-2 wide receiver has been there since the beginning of the run and knows just what it’s taken for Westlake to become a consistent threat.
“I think it’s been two things,” Greathouse said when asked about the factors that make them successful. “Just the great coaching staff that we have and the really good chemistry that all the successful teams have had. We’ve all been super close and that just makes everything go hand-in-hand.
“It helps you work harder when you know you’re practicing and having fun with the guys that you grew up with. We have some of the best coaches in the country so combine all that and you get a lot of success.”
Finding a way to make an impact in the team’s first title run came naturally to Greathouse, who took one of the toughest high school football conferences in the state by storm his freshman season. Behind 715 yards and 10 touchdowns, the Westlake wide receiver announced his presence to opposing coaches as the Chaparrals rolled to their first state championship since 1995.
Becoming one of the top playmakers in the state has come with his enormous production during all four years with the team. With currently over 3,500 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns, Greathouse has his name close to the top of the state’s record books. For the Westlake wideout, having the right mindset has allowed him to become a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.
“I’m just a guy that loves to exploit mismatches,” Greathouse said. “My coaches do a good job of putting me everywhere on the field to get me open because a lot of times I have to deal with double teams, being one of the defenses’ main focuses.
“It can get challenging to get the ball but my coaches have done a really good job of getting me in the right spots to be able to make plays. I’m a competitor, I don’t like to lose. I just know whatever one-on-one matchup I have against the guy in front of me, I know I’m going to win.”
Following his freshman season, Greathouse enjoyed over 1,100 yards of receiving production as he helped Westlake outshine now-Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers in the team’s 6A state championship matchup. With five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, Greathouse led the Chaparrals over Southlake Carroll for the program’s second straight title in the 2020-2021 season.
With back-to-back titles, Greathouse enjoyed much of the same success as a junior as he, and now-Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, continued to build on their connection. Out of all the dominant performances Greathouse has achieved, none were more important than his work in the 6A state championship in 2021. With another perfect season on the line, the Chaparrals star set a title game record with 236 receiving yards, even posting three touchdowns in the team’s 40-21 win over Guyer.
Jaden Greathouse (Austin Westlake) earned Championship Game Offensive MVP with 3 receiving TDs and an all-time State record 236 receiving yards.
Colton Vasek (Austin Westlake) earned Championship Game Defensive MVP with a game-high 3 sacks and 3.5 tackles.#UILState pic.twitter.com/6DSGJ1ZJK4
— Texas UIL (@uiltexas) December 19, 2021
Now coming off three straight state championships, Greathouse knows just what kind of legacy he can leave behind. With the state wondering if Westlake can complete the perfect sweep during his time with the program, Greathouse and his teammates are trying to block out the outside noise as they focus on themselves.
“It would mean everything to me,” Greathouse said on winning a fourth state title. “We have a chance to make a four-peat. We have a chance to have the second-highest win streak of all time if we win the state championship, so there’s a lot at stake.
“I think me and my teammates have done a really good job of handling it and staying inside the locker room and not listening to the outside noise about what other people say about us and our team. We’ve been doing a really job of staying locked in and our work on the field will show it at the end.”
One of the biggest changes entering the Chaparrals current season has been a switch at quarterback. With Klubnik now at the collegiate level, Greathouse has had to adjust to a new signal-caller. This season, the team has relied on a mix of junior quarterbacks in Paxton Land and Brett Skinner.
“Cade’s a great player and so are our other quarterbacks [that we have now],” Greathouse said. “They have battled through injuries and they’ve had a lot to deal with this season but I think they’ve done a good job of handling that. There’s a lot of pressure on their shoulders being the new starting quarterback but they’ve been doing a good job of staying focused and just grinding everyday during practice.”
With added pressure to maintain the same success on offense, Greathouse has been looked upon to become the team’s leader. This year, he’s sporting the captain “C” on his jersey as he hopes to share his vast experience with some of the younger players. With some of his older teammates in the past passing on knowledge to him, he’s hoping he can repay the favor for this year’s squad.
“My freshman year I had some really good senior mentors that kind of took me under their wing and really showed me what Westlake is about,” Greathouse said. “I just tried to apply that same thing that they did for me to the younger guys that we have now.”
While Greathouse and Westlake build off their perfect start, the senior wideout knows his future is right around the corner. That’s why this season has become so important.
Congratulations to Notre Dame commit Jaden Greathouse on 200 varsity receptions! #GoChaps pic.twitter.com/UyCH0YLIij
— WestlakeNation (@Westlake_Nation) October 8, 2022
After committing to Notre Dame back in July, Greathouse is hoping he can bring the same level of success to the Irish program. After hearing from Division I schools throughout his time at Westlake, a trip to South Bend put the stamp on what he had already known.
“After I took my first visit, that’s where I felt like I wanted to be,” Greathouse said. “I still took my other visits just to make sure but it just ended up still being the one.
“They have a great coaching staff. Coach [Marcus] Freeman is a great coach, Coach [Chansi] Stuckey is a great coach and they’re all really good people. And also, the opportunities they provide off the field as well. Notre Dame is a very prestigious school and they have great academics over there so I was kind of getting the best of both worlds over there.”
With one of the top recruiting classes for the Class of 2023, Greathouse will be joining a new era of Irish football under Coach Freeman. With the hope of making an early impact just like he did at Westlake, Greathouse will become an early enrollee after his senior football season.
With a lot to look forward to, Greathouse is still focused on one thing before his next chapter on the football field kicks off.
“Everybody on the team has the same thing in mind, just making history with a four state championship,” Greathouse said. “We definitely all keep that in the back of our heads when we are working during practice and trying to reach that goal.”
