NEW OFD STAFFER: Hey, my name is Jordan!

Hey I’m Jordan Brown, a 2013 ND Grad and data viz enthusiast. I majored officially in Political Science but unofficially in developing a truly topsy-turvy, emotional rollercoaster of a relationship with Notre Dame football. I’m originally from southeast Louisiana. I’m pretty certain that one of the big reasons that me and ND football have continued on in our love affair is because I refuse to take the slander from my folks in SEC country.

As the years have trucked along and my personal connections to the university and football program have aged a bit, data analytics and visualization have stepped up to keep me engaged. When I first got started with it, I thought that primarily tracking the data side of the program would turn me into a more reasoned, measured fan.

Alas, that hasn’t been the case and I find myself being jolted throughout all of the highs and lows of ND seasons, only to show up each Fall ready to go again. Only now with even more vizs and data points to make the ride even more interesting (mostly because there’s so much more fun in ignoring trends/odds and just going with your gut and some anecdotal moment from a game seven seasons ago during your senior season).

Like I said, interesting but not to be confused with stable or well-reasoned. Fortunately, communities like OFD exist to remind us fans that we’re not alone in this. I’m really excited to share my ND Football centered data analytics and viz work here!!

Here are a few inaugural vizs that break out ND’s 2022 Roster by players’ home states/countries. In total, 62% or 31 U.S. States along with Germany and South Africa have some representation on the roster. The vizs highlight a pretty wide footprint for the team with some of the historically fertile recruiting grounds of California, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and New Jersey laying claim to the largest concentrations of this year’s players.

Go Irish!!