Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2022 29 ALL EYES ON … SOPHOMORE DEION COLZIE When the top re- ceiver from a sea- son ago leaves the program, it 's only natural to fix at- tention on the next man up. That's Col- zie, who appeared to have showed up for spring practices a bit bigger than he was as a true fresh- man. If the speed is still there, then that's a good thing for the Irish. Big-bodied Kevin Austin Jr. isn't going to be easy to replace. Colzie has to produce on the boundary for the Irish. PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Chansi Stuckey (1st season) Departing Starter: Boundary-WR Kevin Austin Jr. (13 career starts) Additional Departures: Slot-WR Lawrence Keys (transferred to Tulane) and Field-WR Xavier Watts (moved to safety) Returning Starters: Senior Braden Lenzy (14 ca- reer starts) at F-WR and graduate student Avery Davis (12) at S-WR Projected New Starter: Sophomore Deion Colzie at B-WR Also Back: Graduate student Matt Salerno at S-WR, graduate student Joe Wilkins Jr. at F-WR, sophomore Lorenzo Styles at S-WR and sopho- more Jayden Thomas at B-WR New Faces: Freshman Tobias Merriweather (ar- rives in the summer) at B-WR T here's no shallower position on Notre Dame's roster in terms of relative numbers. The Irish have eight scholarship receiv- ers on the roster, which includes a former walk-on in Matt Salerno. They have seven in spring practice, with freshman Tobias Merriweather set to arrive in June. He's the lone receiver in the 2022 class follow- ing two 11th-hour decommitments. Only six are healthy — graduate student Avery Davis will not practice this spring as he continues his recovery from November ACL surgery. Poor management of the receiver room led to a coaching change, with Chansi Stuckey replacing Del Alexander. Inju- ries and low numbers left Notre Dame with five healthy scholarship players and a three-man rotation in the Fiesta Bowl, which quickly became untenable when Notre Dame essentially ditched the run game in the first half. Stuckey's initial group may be light on depth and numbers, but not on intriguing talent. Sophomore Lorenzo Styles has future star vibes after a freshman season in which he wedged his way into the rotation mid- year and later stepped in as a starter for the injured Davis. He can further plant himself in the lineup with a strong spring. Leading the team in receiving yards is a lofty but not impossible goal. Classmate Deion Colzie is the first- team boundary receiver by default, because Notre Dame has no other body like him (6-4¾, 207 pounds). He looked noticeably bigger this spring than he did last fall, when he played 11 games that highlighted a need for further physical development. Colzie's main challenger in spring prac- tice is likely graduate student Joe Wilkins Jr. The onus is on Wilkins to show enough progression to convince Notre Dame he's a worthy starter and replacement for lead- ing receiver Kevin Austin Jr. If that happens, then Notre Dame's offense might have some serious explosive upside. If not, that's a potentially uncomfortable real- ity that might require rectifying through the transfer portal. Find- ing a starting-caliber player there in May or June is far from a given. WIDE RECEIVERS NUMBERS TO KNOW 12 Contested catches on 23 contested tar- gets (52.2 percent contest catch rate) for departed leading receiver Kevin Austin Jr. in 2021, per Pro Football Focus. Both the catches and catch rate ranked second on the team to only junior tight end Michael Mayer (13 on 23, 56.5 percent). The six returning wide receivers for the Irish managed only four contested catches on 20 targets (20.0 percent). 125.7 Passer rating, per PFF, for Notre Dame quarter- backs on their 42 targets to graduate student slot receiver Avery Davis last season. That was the best on the team among wide receivers and second only to running back Chris Tyree (131.2) among all Irish pass catchers with at least 10 targets. 199 Yards after catch (8.3 per reception) for sophomore wide receiver Lorenzo Styles during his rookie season last year. Both figures ranked fifth on the team in 2021 and are the most among returning wide receivers. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH FIELD RECEIVER With Notre Dame only having five healthy scholarship receivers this spring, there are only two options — sophomore LORENZO STYLES vs. senior Matt Salerno in the slot and fifth-year seniors Braden Lenzy vs. Joe Wilkins Jr. at field. The answer is the latter. Wilkins is back to 100 percent after undergoing knee surgery in October. Lenzy didn't have much help at field last fall after Wilkins went down. Snap counts reflected that. Now the two are battling for those reps. 2022 SPRING FOOTBALL OVERVIEW PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER LORENZO STYLES