Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1411895
6 SEPT. 25, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL N otre Dame is playing this season with nearly half as many scholar- ship wide receivers as it did in 2020. The Irish had 13 wideouts among their 85 scholarship players last year. They are down to seven for the rest of 2021, and not because of injury. Rather, it's the result of several defections over the last nine months. No position on Notre Dame's roster has seen more de- partures this year. Last season's starting outside receiv- ers, Ben Skowronek and Javon McKin- ley, turned pro. Deep backups Micah Jones and Jafar Armstrong took gradu- ate transfers this offseason. Three un- derclassman reserves — Kendall Ab- dur-Rahman, Jordan Johnson and Jay Brunelle — entered the transfer portal in the spring or shortly after. And finally, after Notre Dame's opener at Florida State, senior Law- rence Keys III decided to sit out the rest of the season to focus on completing the 18 credit hours he needs to graduate in December. He will make a decision on his football future afterward, but a return to the team is unlikely. That same week, Notre Dame moved sophomore Xavier Watts from receiver to rover. The result is a seven-man scholarship receiving corps with four seniors and three freshmen — and little room for injury or unavailability. The Irish still have their three veteran starters to lean on: senior boundary re- ceiver (the "W" position) Kevin Austin Jr., senior field receiver ("X") Braden Lenzy and graduate student slot man ("Z") Avery Davis. Austin led all Notre Dame receivers in targets with 13 through two games. He had three catches on passes at least 20 yards downfield in those two con- tests. He has given the Irish the field- stretching presence it lacked a season ago. Among all developments at receiver this year, that's the most important one. Behind them? There's a lot of shifting. Senior Joe Wilkins Jr., an outside re- ceiver his entire career, will add slot duties to his plate, head coach Brian Kelly said. Freshmen Lorenzo Styles Jr. (field receiver) and Deion Col- zie (boundary) are in line for playing time bumps. Kelly described freshman Jayden Thomas as a "swing guy." Walk- on Matt Salerno could find himself in the mix as well. " I 'm exc i te d a b o u t ge t t i n g t h e chance to see those [veteran] guys, but also some of the young guys as they UNDER THE DOME THIN NUMBERS Departures leave Irish with seven scholarship players at receiver, but provide freshmen with opportunity Senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. is one of just seven Notre Dame scholarship players at the position on this year's roster. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER