Notre Dame’s Braden Lenzy Getting Back To Speed
Junior wide receiver Braden Lenzy enrolled at Notre Dame in 2018 as one of the nation’s fastest football prospects, but quickly recognized his progress in the college game would not nearly be as swift.
Listed at a generous 170 pounds his freshman season in 2018, not only was Lenzy underdeveloped physically, but his route running was raw, his hands extremely inconsistent and his confidence fragile.
“It took me about three days to realize I wasn’t ready,” he admitted during Tuesday evening’s session with the media. “I called my mom and dad, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing the best I can, it just might not happen this year.’ ”
One of four freshman wideouts redshirted that year (along with Lawrence Keys III, Joe Wilkins and Micah Jones), Lenzy soon recognized that his prominent track career would have to be shelved if he was going to actualize his football skills.
A two-time 400-meter state champion in the state of Oregon (personal best 47.62), where father Melvin was a senior global brand director at Nike, Lenzy ran the sixth-fastest 200 meters in Oregon high school history (21.34) while also competing in the 100 meters (personal best 10.62).
Yet when he entered his second-semester freshman season at Notre Dame, Lenzy sent out two social media messages that January. One was he was not moving to cornerback, as was the popular rumor because of the need there and because of the skepticism about his hands.
“I came to Notre Dame to play WR and I will always just be a WR,” Lenzy tweeted. “In no future will I play DB in South Bend. Please stop asking me because I redshirted if there were concerns. I am working hard every day to help do my part for our O next year!”
A few days later, he announced that he would forego his track career at Notre Dame, powerful evidence of his commitment to football.
“I’ve decided to focus all my time on football in preparation for spring time,” he tweeted on Jan. 19, 2019. “I will always love track, but I feel this is best for my short term and long term goals athletically!”
Unfortunately, Lenzy found himself more frustrated entering his sophomore season when his parents traveled from Oregon to watch the Fighting Irish opener at Louisville. He did not see a snap in that 35-17 win.
During the 66-14 blowout of New Mexico the following week, his first career catch resulted in a 52-yard pass from Phil Jurkovec (now at Boston College, just in case no one was aware) and his second a leaping leaping catch of a screen from Brendon Clark which saw him navigate through traffic for a 22-yard score.
Past concussion issues then prevented his trip to No. 3 Georgia. Eventually, the game-breaking skills began to manifest themselves more in the second half of the season: a 51-yard touchdown off a reverse in the 30-27 win versus USC, another tally from 61 yards against Boston College on a similar play, a 70-yard scoring catch deep downfield versus Navy, and finally seven touches in the Camping World Bowl win versus Iowa State, including three kickoff returns for 71 yards.
The determination to become a productive college receiver — not just a “speed guy” — was honed in part by a meeting with the late former NBA icon Kobe Bryant, who he interacted with occasionally because of his father’s relationship with him and the Nike brand.
“The biggest moment I remember probably talking with him, I forget the age but we were talking about a basketball tournament that I just had,” Lenzy recalled. “I went over to a family friend’s house and Kobe was there.
“He asked me about the tournament, and I said I was sore. He said, ‘Well, did you take an ice bath?’ And I was like, ‘No, I can’t, it hurts too much. I can’t take an ice bath.’ And he goes, ‘My youngest daughter takes an ice bath. If you won’t take an ice bath, you won’t be great.’
“I’ve taken a lot of ice baths since.”
This summer, when the NCAA permitted the number 0 to be used in college football, Lenzy requested it to switch from No. 25, which since 1973 has been the unofficial “speed number” at Notre Dame, starting with Al Hunter and continuing with the likes of College Football Hall of Fame inductee Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, among many others.
“When I looked at 25, it just kind of reminded me what I was in high school and early on in college — just a sprinter, a runner, a track guy playing football,” Lenzy said.
“I thought getting a single-digit number would kind of make me feel more like a true receiver, which I feel like that’s what I developed into. And no one’s ever worn it before… I thought that would be cool, to be honest. And I’m from Oregon — 0, Oregon is similar.”
Health ailments and a hamstring injury prevented Lenzy from seeing action in the opener a third straight year (versus Duke) this year, but he returned to action with three catches for 34 yards in the 52-0 romp versus USF on Sept. 19.
It’s been a unique 2020, but Lenzy has grown from patience while dealing with setbacks.
“I think for me in quarantine and just COVID, it kind of helped me mature and realize what my priorities are and what I want to focus on and who I want to be,” he said. “...My hope and my goal is for one to see us win, but two that I can show my development and just kind of grow into myself and advance as a football player.”
He says he is 100-percent prepared physically and mentally for this week’s clash with Florida State.
“You’ve got to stretch, you’ve got to get treatment,” he said of overcoming the hamstring injury. “There is no easy answer, per se. I had zero hamstring stress before and it just kind of happened. I dealt with it, and with the help of Rob Hunt, who is a phenomenal trainer and I appreciate everything he has done for me…you have to take it day by day, and I came back swiftly.”
Through two games, the wideout corps has not been targeted with frequency while trying to develop a rhythm with quarterback Ian Book (accounting for 11 catches for only 110 yards), but Lenzy says it will come with time and repetition.
Meanwhile, he was elated that Wilkins shined in his place versus Duke in the opener.
“I was so happy,” Lenzy said. “He’s been through so much in life…To see him prove that he should be getting reps, and now seeing him continue to get reps, and now he’s getting that respect that I feel he should have deserved for a long time. As a teammate, colleague and best friend, I could not be more excited for the rise of Mr. Wilkins.”
The rise of Mr. Lenzy could be developing as well.
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