Kevin Austin Jr. took his place on the boundary side during an early August practice, eyeing the same prey he hunted earlier.
Austin lined up with cornerback Cam Hart opposite him and shot off the line at the snap. About 10 to 12 yards downfield, with Hart still on his hip, he rocketed into the air, turned his body toward the ball and away from Hart, and snared a pass.
Just as smoothly as he went up, he descended and hit the gas pedal across the field. Not until gaining around 10 yards after the catch did a defender corral him with an arm to the chest and bring him down.
This was after two wins on fade routes in one-on-one drills versus Hart, Notre Dame’s projected starting boundary corner and an offseason riser. Before that, he gained about five yards of separation on a simple hitch pattern. Fellow Irish wide receiver Avery Davis, who moonlighted as a cornerback two fall camps ago, appreciates Hart’s plight.
“He made my time playing corner not fun,” Davis said, recalling his attempts at covering Austin in August 2019.
Inside Notre Dame football’s walls, Austin’s ability to send cornerbacks through the spin cycle and pull down jump balls like a center rebounding a basketball is no new phenomenon.
His teammates and coaches have seen his long strides chew up real estate when he runs after the catch. His 6-2, 215-pound frame is a prototype for a wide receiver. Since arriving on campus, Austin, Rivals’ No. 88 overall recruit in 2018, has been the subject of widespread adoration and a marvel among teammates.
“Kevin Austin, people don’t talk a lot about him, but he’s a special talent,” former Irish receiver Chase Claypool said in November 2019. “He has really good speed and clean cuts. He’s a crazy athlete who’s still learning.”
“You’re going to see a star,” senior receiver Braden Lenzy said last fall.
