How A Mental Adjustment Helped Lorenzo Styles Jr. Impress In Fall Camp
The freshman acclimation period does not discriminate.
It’s not a matter of if, but in what area the high school football to Notre Dame football transition hits the hardest. It could be game speed. Playbook knowledge. Academic rigors. College life. And so on. Immunity is rare.
Freshman wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s experience is a less frequent one.
“He’s such a detailed guy, and sometimes they get in the way of him playing free,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said.
In other words, Styles has a case of paying too much attention to detail. As far as freshman speed bumps go, it’s as well intentioned as any.
“He’s probably his own worst enemy at times and he wants to be perfect,” Kelly said. “We try to get perfect out of the way in the first couple periods and start working toward being good.”
Seven months after his February enrollment, Styles is offering signs that he is going easier on himself and, in turn, leaving frequent reminders why he was a top-50 overall recruit in the 2021 class.
Styles’ high school film is filled with impressive runs after the catch and punt returns. He’s a playmaker in space. A glimpse of him practicing for Notre Dame has revealed a refined route runner for a freshman, ball skills, burst and fluidity. He stuffed several flashy moments into Notre Dame’s Aug. 19 practice, which was open for media to watch from start to finish.
The first came in cornerback vs. receiver one-on-ones, where he beat fellow freshman Philip Riley on a go route with a late breakaway. In red-zone work, he snagged a jump-ball against JoJo Johnson after gaining just enough separation on a post-corner route, a nod to his technical meticulousness. Shortly after, he beat Riley again and snared a well-placed and perfectly lofted Tyler Buchner pass in the back corner of the end zone.
All told, it was the kind of day that makes any coach excited about a first-year player. When asked about Styles’ performance and progress shortly after practice, Kelly prefaced his answer about perfectionism with a dose of optimism.
“Styles is coming,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees went even further during his media session two days earlier.
“Zo has the same traits [senior wide receiver] Braden [Lenzy] has,” Rees said. “He’s a fast dude. He can really run. Zo is Ben Skowronek mentally when he talks about competing, going full speed and loving the game, that’s how he’s wired. From the moment Zo stepped on the field this spring, we’ve seen a deep level of commitment to his craft.”
One wonders, then, if it’s enough to earn a weekly role and dodge a redshirt. Styles is working behind Lenzy at the “X” receiver position, also called the field receiver. Seniors Joe Wilkins Jr. and Lawrence Keys III have played there as well. Though Notre Dame has only nine scholarship receivers, the depth chart feels less friendly for a freshman to climb beyond second-team duties than it did at the end of last season.
Notre Dame has propped up the senior quartet of Lenzy, Wilkins, Keys and Kevin Austin Jr., plus graduate student Avery Davis, as the centerpieces of its 2021 receiving corps since spring practice. That largely unproven group has stayed healthy and appears to have risen to the staff’s challenge.
Lenzy and Wilkins were summer workout standouts. The former has also added to his game with improved ball skills that have shown up on several occasions this month. Austin, finally recovered from a pair of foot fractures that derailed his 2020 season, has dominated for stretches of practice and is ticketed for No. 1 receiver duties. Davis is a team captain and the primary slot receiver after catching 24 passes in that role a year ago.
Notre Dame does, of course, also have a gifted tight end in sophomore Michael Mayer, a reliable pass-catching running back in junior Kyren Williams and a No. 2 back angling for more pass-game work in sophomore Chris Tyree. Finding targets for those three and five receivers is already hard enough.
Styles’ clearest path may be at punt returner. He has fielded punts since spring practice, along with Austin, Williams and senior walk-on wide receiver Matt Salerno.
Notre Dame used Salerno in that role last year because of his reliable punt receiving skills, but sacrificed some upside for electric returns. Styles has the latter. He’s also not a starter who would cripple the offense if he were injured on a return. If he demonstrates he can avoid misadventure when fielding punts, his case might be too strong for anyone to top.
If one practice is any indication, though, he has his sights set on much more.
“He’s starting to play faster,” Kelly said. “He’s going to be really good. Sometimes it just takes getting out of your own way in a positive way. He’s just so conscious of detail. But the progress is really coming.”
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