Braden Lenzy became the 11th Notre Dame commit of the 2018 cycle when he announced for the Irish today. Lenzy and his parents madeĀ theirĀ first visit to Notre Dame on the first junior day of the cycle; the visit made a big impression, as it moved the Irish from the edge of his radar to right smack in the middle. Lenzy becomes the fourth of the five uncommitted prospects from that weekend to pledge for Notre Dame, joining CB Kalon Gervin, WR Micah Jones, and OT Cole Mabry. LB Dallas Gant is the fifth guy – we’ll see if he moves out of the on deck circle at some point, but regardless, just closing four out of five is some impressive work.

Although Lenzy is rankedĀ either as an athlete or cornerback by all the services, Notre Dame is recruiting him strictly for offense and believes he’s the kind of receiver who could take the top off a defense. As he noted in his commitment tweet, he’ll also run track at the next level, which isn’t remotely surprising given his track times so far. As a sophomore, he won the Oregon 6A state title in the 400m with a 48.38Ā and placed fourth in the 200m with a 21.88; he also logged a 10.86 100m last springĀ andĀ a 4.47 40 at a Nike event. As a sophomore. TheĀ Irish staff is probably not far off-base in their speed assessment, and by “not far off-base” I mean “dead on.” Speaking of the Swoosh… Lenzy’s father is a senior marketing guy with Nike. He’s from Ohio, though, and both parents are Purdue alums, so they have more roots in the Midwest than you might think. His father is very much in Notre Dame’s corner here and Lenzy has already visited Oregon, which should ease some concern about whether the Ducks will be able to flip him later in the process.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Sports — 4Ā star (91 rating), #183 overall, #13 ATH, #5Ā inĀ OR

Rivals — 4Ā star (5.8 rating), Ā #238 overall, #21 ATH, #3 in OR

Scout — 4Ā star, #134Ā overall,Ā #13 CB, #3 in OR

ESPN —Ā Not yet evaluated (What’s up with these guys?)

247 Composite — 4Ā star (.9261), #178 overall, #10 ATH, #3 in OR

Cohort

LenzyĀ also holds offers fromĀ Cal, Colorado, Michigan State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, and USC, among others.

Highlights

The beginning of the kick return at the 0:22 mark is pure sorcery – and once he got the crease he was looking for, he went from zero to 60 in about 0.3 seconds. That’s a theme in this video, as time and again Lenzy shows explosiveness in and out of cuts and excellent acceleration. I also like that he shows more patience than you might expect from a high school kid with his speed; on offense and on kick returns, he does a good job of setting up blocks and waiting for things to open up in front of him. He’s decisive as well, picking a hole without hesitation and turning on the jets when he does. I also like the physicality he shows on defense, where he’s a fearless tackler and tenacious in press coverage, and how it often translates to how he finishes plays on offense too. If I’m being picky, and I meanĀ really picky, he could work on attacking the ball in the air more; I thought there were a couple of plays on here where he waited on the ball a bit. He also could stand to add a few pounds for college ball, but given that he’s just a junior now and he’s likely going to have a role in the offense similar to the identically-sized Will Fuller*, I’m not too worried about that.

Something totally unrelated to Lenzy’s abilities that struck me too… I saw them run the same play probably a dozen times on this video. I don’t know what to call it; it looks sort of like a wheel route rotated 90 degrees toward the middle of the field, or a drag at 10-15 yards depth instead of 3-5 yards. It was like clockwork, though – run a couple of kids off the line of scrimmage, let Lenzy leak in behind them, hit him wide open and get him in space against the far-side corner. Here’s a tip, Oregon high school teams: Prepare for this play next season.

* Note that I’mĀ notĀ saying he’s the next Will Fuller – it’s tempting to make the comparison (Fuller had a similar build, finished the 2013 cycle as the #277 overall player in the 247 Composite and had recorded a 4.52 40 at that time), but it’s completely unfair to the kid. He has that kind of potential but it’s a long way off right now, so let’s table the Fuller comparisons for Braden Lenzy until he puts up a 70-catch season.

Impact

In reviewing Micah Jones’s commitment, we said that he might have to wait a bit before making an appearance in the depth chart. Braden Lenzy, on the other hand, possesses an unteachable skill that might get him on the field sooner – his speed is the key to potential early playing time. Brian Kelly said recruiting game-breaking speed on offense would be a priority for the staff in the 2018 class, and they’veĀ taken a big step toward that goal with Lenzy’s commitment. I think Lenzy could appear on kick returns immediately, and could potentially work his way onto the field on offense as well if he adjusts quickly to the Notre Dame offense. I would expect him to get at least a cup of coffee in 2018 to get him acclimated and then become a significant contributor in 2019.

Welcome to the Irish family, Braden!