Braden Lenzy can understand the roadblocks Jayden Thomas might have encountered as a freshman.
Like Lenzy did in 2018, Thomas has watched from the sidelines as a fellow freshman wide receiver sees the field. In this case, it is two of them. Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie have played a combined 347 snaps, caught 20 total passes and aren’t redshirting. Thomas, a four-star recruit himself, has seen 14 snaps in three games.
That’s 14 more than Lenzy earned as a freshman.
“JT has definitely experienced more of what I did,” Lenzy said.
Lenzy recounted his anonymous freshman season and two more years of bumps, listing off the mental hurdles he had to clear. There were freshman frustrations. Being far from home. Wondering if he’s in the right place. Realizing the goal every freshman sets of seeing the field right away won’t happen – and humbling moments that illustrate why.
Injuries dealt Thomas an initial setback too. He spent part of fall camp out of commission, riding an exercise bike and watching in street clothes as Colzie and Styles made their moves.
It seems, though, Thomas has turned a corner in December bowl practices. That’s not to guarantee he will play more than a couple snaps in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl against No. 9 Oklahoma State. At minimum, his surge is good news for the receiver room next year that once again might be thin on numbers.
“He’s probably been as good in bowl prep as any of those young guys – offense, defense, doesn’t matter,” offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “He has had a really impressive bowl prep. He’s a smart kid, gets lined up and no problems mentally. He plays hard, naturally talented, big body, good hands. He’s a guy we have a high expectation for moving forward.”
Thomas even offered a snippet of it in Notre Dame’s Dec. 12 practice that was partially open to reporters. In the “opener” period — a Marcus Freeman tweak — Thomas snagged a jump ball in the end zone over freshman cornerback Philip Riley on a corner route.
The offense lost the opener and had to run a gasser, but Thomas’ catch still stands out. It lends more credibility to Rees’ assertion that Notre Dame’s offensive staff remained high on Thomas long-term, even amid his silent regular season spent mostly on the scout team.
“We knew when Jayden got here, he was going to be able to help us,” Rees said. “He fought through some injuries throughout the year and he had to keep battling through. When we needed him, he has played and played well.”
The truth is, Thomas’ fate is one most freshman wide receivers face. There are only so many snaps, especially when Notre Dame uses a tight end on nearly every play and has dabbled in more two-back sets. Even Colzie and Styles were destined for bit roles before in-season injuries and attrition slashed receiver numbers and stuck them in the spotlight. They totaled 57 snaps in Notre Dame’s first six games.
“Deion, he has played, but it’s a lot of blocking rather than touches,” Lenzy said. “Zo knows. Especially because he was here in the spring. He was here during those dog days. He was good, getting reps, but not, like, playing. If no one left, he might not have.”
Styles has started the last three games and looks the part of a future star. He was identified as a Year 1 contributor who wouldn’t redshirt for a reason. At the same time, he’s a 2021 starter out of need. It took Xavier Watts’ position switch, Lawrence Keys III’s transfer, Joe Wilkins Jr.’s MCL tear and Avery Davis’ ACL tear to push him in the lineup. The carnage left Notre Dame with five scholarship wide receivers.
Thomas needed all those unfortunate occurrences to earn the call-up from scout team to varsity, which came the week of Notre Dame’s Nov. 13 trip to Virginia. He trotted onto the Scott Stadium field for his first career snaps during the Irish’s opening drive. It was a reward.
“He prepared the right way,” Rees said. “We felt like he handled the game plan. We were five-deep at wideout, maybe six, thinking about it. ‘Hey, you’re going to have to go out there and play.’”
The action found Thomas right away. Not in the form of a target, but a block.
On third-and-two from Virginia’s 36-yard line, running back Kyren Williams spun out of a backfield tackle attempt and bounced a run to the outside, toward Thomas on the boundary. Thomas had initially faked a screen. He sprang into action when he saw Williams improvise, met Cavaliers safety Joey Blount at the line of scrimmage and gave Williams a cutback lane.
All told, the play was a six-yard run on a drive that ended with zero points. In the big picture of this 28-3 win, it went down as a rather inconsequential moment. In the context of Thomas’ freshman year, it was a breakthrough.
“He does those little things at a high level,” Rees said.
Maybe little things and blocks are not the way he initially thought he would be measuring his freshman-year progress. The important part, though, is there’s progress to measure.
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