Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1264448
WIDE RECEIVERS • Named The Chicago Tribune/News-Sun 2017 Football Player of the Year and was tabbed as an All-Illinois first-team wide receiver by USA Today. • Hauled in 53 catches for 824 yards and 12 scores during his senior season at Warren High School. • Ranked as a four-star talent, the No. 2 prospect in Illinois, and the No. 38 wideout and No. 192 overall player in the nation by Rivals. LAWRENCE KEYS III • WR Jr. • New Orleans Ht.: 5-10 • Wt.: 173 • Saw action in 12 games and made three starts in 2019. • Caught 13 passes for 134 yards, while adding six rushes for 46 yards. • Did not play in 2018. • Named first-team 4A All-State by the Louisiana Sports Writer Association as a prep senior and was an honorable mention pick as a junior. • Snared 58 receptions for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. • Rated by ESPN as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 recruit in Louisiana and the No. 21 wide receiver in the country. Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD 2019 12-3 13 134 10.3 0 BRADEN LENZY • WR Jr. • Tigard, Ore. Ht.: 5-11½ • Wt.: 184 • Played in nine contests with a pair of starts in 2019. • Caught 11 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 200 yards and a pair of scores on 13 carries. • Scored first career TD among two catches for 74 yards against New Mexico. • Picked up his first career rushing touchdown on a 51-yard run against USC. Also ran for a 61-yard score against Boston College. • Did not see game action in 2018. • Played both ways in high school, registering 1,010 yards from scrimmage on offense while adding 35 tackles and seven interceptions on defense during his senior season. • Tabbed as both the Three Rivers League Co-Offen- sive Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. • Rated by Rivals as a four-star prospect, the No. 3 player in Oregon and the No. 12 athlete in the country. Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD 2019 9-2 11 254 23.1 2 JAVON MCKINLEY • WR 5th-Sr. • Corona, Calif. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 215 • Saw action in nine games with a pair of starts in 2019. • Snagged 11 receptions for 268 yards and four touchdowns. • Had two catches, both for scores, totaling 85 yards in win over New Mexico. • Had five receptions for 104 yards and a score against Bowling Green. • Appeared in four games in 2018, did not play in 2017 and saw snaps in five games in 2016 before he was sidelined by a broken leg that he suffered during practice in October. • Holds the Inland area record with 3,752 career receiving yards and tied another mark with 43 career touchdown receptions. • Selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass for the West team in a 37-9 win. • Caught 56 passes for 1,173 yards and 13 touch- downs to lead Centennial to a Pac-5 champion- ship his senior season. • Rivals ranked him as a four-star talent, the No. 13 player in California, and the No. 11 wideout and No. 59 overall recruit nationally. Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD 2016 6-0 0 0 0.0 0 2017 0-0 0 0 0.0 0 2018 4-0 0 0 0.0 0 2019 9-2 11 268 24.4 4 Totals 19-2 11 268 24.4 4 ISAIAH ROBERTSON • WR Sr. • Bolingbrook, Ill. Ht.: 6-1½ • Wt.: 215 • Moved from defensive back to wide receiver during the 2019 offseason, but did not see any game action in the fall. • Saw action in six games in 2018, but did not register any statistics. • Played in 12 games during the 2017 season, pre- dominantly on special teams. Registered four special teams tackles. • Played on both sides of the football at Neuqua Valley, registering 50 tackles and an interception on defense while adding 29 catches for 380 yards on offense. • Ranked by Rivals as a four-star recruit, the No. 4 player in Illinois and the No. 18 athlete in the nation. BENNETT SKOWRONEK • WR 5th-Sr. • Fort Wayne, Ind. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 224 • Joined the Notre Dame pro- gram as a graduate transfer in January. • Spent four years at Northwest- ern, but an ankle injury cut short his senior season after just three games and opened the path to his graduate transfer. • Started 30 of the 43 games he played in for the Wildcats, and reeled in 110 receptions for 1,417 yards and eight touchdowns. • Was named one of four team captains for his senior campaign at Northwestern. • As a sophomore in 2017, he led the Wildcats in both receiving yards (644) and touchdown catches (five), while setting career highs in recep- tions (45), receiving yards, yards per catch (14.3), touchdowns and yards per game (49.5). • Rivals listed him as a three-star recruit and the No. 15 player in Indiana. Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD 2016 13-0 8 70 8.8 0 2017 13-13 45 644 14.3 5 2018 14-14 45 562 12.5 3 2019 3-3 12 141 11.8 0 Totals 43-30 110 1,417 12.9 8 JOE WILKINS JR. • WR Jr. • North Fort Myers, Fla. Ht.: 6-1½ • Wt.: 190 • Saw the field in six games in 2019. • Did not record any receptions, but returned a pair of punts for two yards. • Played in two games during his freshman season at Notre Dame. • Saw snaps on offense and defense for North Fort Myers High School, totaling 36 tackles and two interceptions on defense, and 34 catches for 616 yards on offense during his senior season. • Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals as a cor- nerback, but also was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 81 player in Florida and the No. 45 athlete in the nation. NEWCOMERS JAY BRUNELLE • WR Fr. • Paxton, Mass. Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 196 • Set the Central Massachusetts record for career receiving yards with 2,666. • Caught 52 passes for 1,072 yards and 11 touch- downs during his senior season, while helping 60 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Fifth-year senior Javon McKinley, whom Rivals list- ed as the No. 59 overall high school player in the country, averaged 24.4 yards on his 11 receptions and scored four touchdowns in 2019. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER