Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 30, 2019 11 COLE KMET RETURNS TO LINEUP During preparation for the Georgia game Sept. 21, junior tight end Cole Kmet — who has been cleared by the medical staff following his bro- ken collarbone suffered Aug. 8 — was listed as the starter on the depth chart in the release issued by the football media relations office. Kelly was non- committal about Kmet starting at Georgia, but did say he would play. Either way, his presence to aug- ment those of junior classmate Brock Wright and freshman Tommy Tremble was highly welcomed. "He can control the point of attack with his physi- cality, he can go down the field, he can catch the football," Kelly said of Kmet. "He balances it out now with two other tight ends that give us versatility within our formations where you could have two [tight ends] on the field — or three at times — where you could break that formation out and now you have got to cover them with base personnel. And they're difficult to cover. It gives you a lot of flexibility relative to your personnel matchups." — Lou Somogyi UNDER THE DOME A Notre Dame wideout corps that suffered setbacks with a broken clav- icle suffered by junior Michael Young Aug. 17 and reportedly a season-long suspension of sophomore Kevin Aus- tin is beginning to catch up in more ways than one. Senior Javon McKinley and soph- omore speedster Braden Lenzy — who between them totaled one career catch prior to the Sept. 14 New Mex- ico game — provided a lift against the Lobos while combining for four receptions that covered 159 yards and three touchdowns. Beyond his electrifying 65-yard catch and run for one touchdown, and a leaping snare of a 20-yard jump ball for another score, the sud- den emergence of the 6-2, 220-pound McKinley — who was ranked as the nation's No. 59 overall player in the nation by Rivals in the 2016 recruit- ing class — has had a positive dom- ino effect. His size and strength takes some of the burden off senior boundary man Chase Claypool and also allows fifth-year senior Chris Finke to re- turn to the slot, where his skill set is more conducive. It is also expected to benefit the ground attack because McKinley grades out extremely well in the weight room. "He's a really good blocker," head coach Brian Kelly said. "He's physi- cal, one of the stronger guys that we have. … He brings all of those in- tangibles: big physical presence out there that can come down and block a safety. He's earned his opportunity to get significant playing time. "He helps in the running game, he helps in the one-on-one matchups, and he'll be a significant part of what we do moving forward." Furthermore, it also puts less of an onus on sophomore speedsters Lawrence Keys III and Lenzy to not be force fed into too elaborate roles. Against New Mexico, Keys ac- counted for 72 all-purpose yards in the first quarter, while Lenzy in the final 21 minutes excelled in all three scripted plays the coaches gave him: catching the deep post (52 yards), making a good gain off a reverse (14 yards) and displaying yards-after- catch skills on a screen — which he turned into a 22-yard touchdown while breaking tackles and eluding defenders. "He's going to be a guy that now can really get involved in our offense," Kelly said of Lenzy. "He's got great confidence in his ability to do that." Young was projected to return to action either later this month or early October. — Lou Somogyi MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Head coach Brian Kelly said he used No. 2 sophomore quarter- back Phil Jurkovec for only one series against New Mexico — high- lighted by his 52-yard completion to Lenzy and a 23-yard scramble — because the signal-caller was dealing with a thigh contusion. "He got hit a couple of times where we felt like we want to be careful with him," the head coach said. • Reserve sophomore Mike linebacker Bo Bauer received high marks from the staff versus New Mexico after playing out of control earlier in training camp. "We're seeing a guy that's not overrunning a play, but staying in the backside," Kelly said. • The special teams coverage units that have included numer- ous senior starters such as safety Alohi Gilman, cornerback Troy Pride Jr. and wide receiver Chase Claypool was lauded by Kelly, who singled out Claypool's punt coverage as "crazy good." "You've got elite players playing on special teams, that rubs off to the younger players," Kelly said. — Lou Somogyi KMET Receiving Corps 'Catches Up' With Javon McKinley And Braden Lenzy Lenzy made the first two catches of his Irish career in the 66-14 win over New Mexico Sept. 14, a 52-yarder and a 22-yard touchdown grab. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS