3 OBSERVATIONS
The receiving corps is in severe flux, but the schedule for now could buy some time for Ian Book to continue to find some rhythm with the corps.
All three of Book’s primary security blankets or get-out-of-jail receiving cards from last year — second-round picks Cole Kmet and Chase Claypool, plus reliable slot Chris Finke — are gone after snatching 150 passes among them last season.
The top wideout rotation this year was supposed to be Kevin Austin, Ben Skowronek and Braden Lenzy. But Austin underwent foot surgery Aug. 3 that was expected to sideline him two to three months, Skowronek suffered a hamstring injury versus Duke, and Lenzy remains somewhat of an enigma after not seeing action but being on the sideline in uniform for the Duke game. (Inquiries were submitted to the moderator to ask head coach Brian Kelly on why Lenzy did not appear, but they were not used. Hamstring issue has been the rumor.)
The “Next Man In” Award for the Duke game would be junior and former defensive back recruit Joe Wilkins, who snared four passes for 44 yards, three of them during a field-goal march right before halftime while replacing Skowronek. The fourth was a superb sideline-straddling grab.
