Notre Dame Football: What to expect from Wide Receiver Kevin Austin

Notre Dame football wide receiver Kevin Austin was all the rage last preseason. At the time, the freshman was poised to take over the boundary receiver spot over Miles Boykin. So, what happened?

Coming into South Bend ranked as the 14th-ranked wide receiver in the country and the 82nd-ranked player overall in the 2018 class, expectations were justifiably high for Kevin Austin last season.

Notre Dame has traditionally been a school that does not get 5-star, elite-level talent at the skill positions. Rather, it takes 3 and 4-star guys that are underrated and undervalued by other schools and improves them to be great talents over time.

Kevin Austin is different. His rankings may not show it, but Austin is a 5-star recruit.

Austin was expected to be a game-breaker last season. He was going to be the guy that stretched the field and did the things that Boykin and Claypool couldn’t quite do. However, Austin struggled through last season, tallying just 90 yards on five total receptions.

Austin averaged 18 yards per catch. Not a ton of guys have that big-play potential. But Austin wasn’t able to make it happen regularly enough to be a significant factor for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame fans are completely fair in being disappointed with Austin. Without speculating too much, it is worrisome when he didn’t even travel in the last two games of 2018. Also, not a single Notre Dame coach has had anything to say about Austin thus far this spring.

You’d like to see Brian Kelly or Chip Long come out and say that Austin has impressed them, but it hasn’t happened and there aren’t any signs that it’s going to.

So, Austin was underwhelming in a season where he was poised to breakout. But, why? That is a question that can’t be simply answered.

First, Notre Dame returned an exceptional receiving core last season, leaving little room for Austin to break through past upperclassmen Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin. Claypool and Boykin were both very solid receivers that know the Notre Dame offense and have great chemistry with Ian Book.

Second, it’s not uncommon for stud wide receivers to initially struggle a bit under Brian Kelly.

Will Fuller ended his career as one of the best game-breaking wide receivers Notre Dame has seen in recent history. In his freshman season, he totaled six catches for 160 yards and one touchdown.

Miles Boykin didn’t even play his freshman season. Even as a sophomore, Boykin only tallied 6 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Third, academics at Notre Dame and the adjustment to the college workload can be a lot for some guys. Give him some time and let him figure it out.

Overall, the frustration around Austin is entirely justified. Notre Dame fans want to see the next Golden Tate or Michael Floyd — I get it. I am just as frustrated as any of you. However, we need to give Austin some time to find his groove at Notre Dame. Notre Dame is not an Ohio State or Alabama–academics matter and are tough. Austin will find his way.

Full offense intended at those schools by the way.

To answer the question at the beginning of the article, I’d like to believe Austin will get it together this season and be a valuable contributor in the Notre Dame offense. However, when no one has had anything positive to say about him so far this spring, it makes it tough to believe.

Brian Kelly and Chip Long have had plenty of praise for other wide receivers that may just take the spotlight away from Austin and let him settle in. Both Kelly and Long have spoken highly of Michael Young, Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys this spring.

But a lot is still expected of Austin… and soon. If Austin is serious about making a name of himself at Notre Dame, he needs to standout on the practice field ASAP.