Braden Lenzy returned to the fold when he signed with Notre Dame today, during the first-ever early signing window for football. Lenzy first committed to the Irish almost ten months ago, shortly after visiting for the first junior day of the 2018 cycle. He flipped to Oregon in June, reportedly due to confusion about how his track exploits would fit into his Irish football career. After Willie Taggart left Eugene for his “dream job” in Tallahassee, Lenzy decommited from the Ducks and immediately scheduled an official visit for Notre Dame’s football banquet. It would seem that the chance to re-bond with the Irish commits reminded him of the reasons he liked Notre Dame in the first place; the miscommunication about track was reportedly cleared up as well, and it was full speed ahead.

The Irish staff fended off a late push from UCLA and Chip Kelly, as well as Oregon’s attempt to get him back. Yet another dogfight won on the recruiting trail by the overhauled Notre Dame staff. Not surprisingly, Brian Polian was once again a key player in a successful West Coast recruitment. Kudos also go to Brian Kelly, Chip Long, and Del Alexander, who each worked hard to bring Lenzy back home.

Updated Highlights

Speaking of full speed… Lenzy’s junior film blew away the 18 Stripes recruiting crew. His game needed some polish, but his speed, agility, and toughness were already on full display. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it myself, but his senior film is a couple of levels higher in every way. He added some of that polish, and all the same physical skills are there but now they’re turned up to 11. His movements without the ball are more precise and, to steal a Kelly favorite, intentional. He blends phone-booth moves with exceptional acceleration and balance, which makes him a nightmare to bring down no matter where he is on the field. You better bring more than an arm tackle against him, too. And once he gets the tiniest sliver of daylight, forget it. He’s playing a different game than the other kids on the field.

Look at the first two plays on this video. LOOK AT THEM. And then go lie down and recover.

Updated Track Times

In his original commit post back in February, right before his junior track season started, we mentioned Lenzy’s track times. His sophomore numbers were already excellent: 10.86 in the 100M, 21.88 in the 200M (4th at state), 48.38 in the 400M (won state), and a 4.47 40 at a Nike camp. Not surprisingly, his junior times were even better: a PR of 10.62 in the 100M and 4th at state with a 10.76, a PR of 21.34 in the 200M and 2nd at state with a 21.73, and won the state 400M again with a PR of 47.92. His 200M PR is just 0.21 off the Oregon state record. The opportunity he has to set more school and state marks is a big reason why he’s not an early enrollee – he considered it, but it’s understandable that he wants to take a shot at history. And be a kid for a few more months, I get that too.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Composite — 4 star (.9185), #211 overall, #10 ATH, #3 in OR

247 Sports — 4 star (93 rating), #144 overall, #4 ATH, #4 in OR

Rivals — 4 star (5.8 rating),  NR overall (???), #13 ATH, #3 in OR

ESPN — 4 star (81 rating), #261 overall, #23 ATH, #2 in OR

Lenzy moved up in the 247 and ESPN rankings, and somehow dropped out of Rivals’ top 250. Why? Well, if I was a cynic, I might suggest that it’s because he didn’t attend any Rivals camps. Good thing I’m not a cynic.

Impact

In the original commitment article, I said:

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.

Given Notre Dame’s return game last season and Lenzy’s continued development, I’m going to amend that to say that he’ll definitely return kicks in 2018. I’ll stick with spot duty on offense, and then a bigger role in 2019 after Equanimeous St. Brown moves on and unclogs the depth chart a bit. Can you imagine Lenzy on one side of the formation and Stepherson on the other? We would only get it for one season, but… Visions of sugarplums dancing in my head.

Welcome (back) to the Irish family, Braden!