'20 NE WR Xavier Watts (Notre Dame Man)

[arrowryan]

Coach Alexander will be visiting him on Thursday. Kelly and Long could be part of that visit as well. Fully expects to sign on December 18. Per Loy.

I wouldn't say Watts has been undervalued by fans during the recruiting process, but he certainly hasn't been talked in the same regard as Tyree, Johnson, and Mayer. I think he could end up one of the best in this class.

 

[IrishLax]

Coach Alexander will be visiting him on Thursday. Kelly and Long could be part of that visit as well. Fully expects to sign on December 18. Per Loy.

I wouldn't say Watts has been undervalued by fans during the recruiting process, but he certainly hasn't been talked in the same regard as Tyree, Johnson, and Mayer. I think he could end up one of the best in this class.

Time will tell, but I legitimately think that all three WRs we're bringing in are more talented than every WR currently on the roster with the exception of Austin.

 

[ThePiombino]

Time will tell, but I legitimately think that all three WRs we're bringing in are more talented than every WR currently on the roster with the exception of Austin.

Damn, even Lenzy?

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[Luckylucci]

It’ll be interesting to see how ready to go Jordan Johnson is. I could see him having a fairly significant impact from the jump. He seems like that alpha WR that will turn heads during Fall Camp.

Love the 3 man group and think they all come in ready to compete.

 

[koonja]

It’ll be interesting to see how ready to go Jordan Johnson is. I could see him having a fairly significant impact from the jump. He seems like that alpha WR that will turn heads during Fall Camp.

Love the 3 man group and think they all come in ready to compete.

I believe he's an EE? which is huge.

Although I'd trade literally every EE for Chris Tyree to EE.

 

[SoIll]

Damn, even Lenzy?

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Fast? Yes

Lateral Quickness/ Shake? No

Great Hands? No

Pain in the ass on twitter? Yes

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I believe he's an EE? which is huge.

Although I'd trade literally every EE for Chris Tyree to EE.

Agreed, he is truly bringing a skill set that we currently don't have at his position.

Still, I'm sure he and Johnson will turn heads in Fall Camp regardless. Just hope they can be ready to ball out early and often.

As previously mentioned in other threads though, curious to see if Tyree gets buried initially in classic CBK fashion based on pass pro prowess...in Tyree's case I really hope coach looks past it and gets him his touches. Yet another reason I wish he was an EE.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Fast? Yes

Lateral Quickness/ Shake? No

Great Hands? No

Pain in the ass on twitter? Yes

Lenzy showed some nice broken field running this past Saturday. OTOH, there's not yet any evidence his catch radius is larger than a dinner plate.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

It’ll be interesting to see how ready to go Jordan Johnson is. I could see him having a fairly significant impact from the jump. He seems like that alpha WR that will turn heads during Fall Camp.

Love the 3 man group and think they all come in ready to compete.

I am no expert but his route running looks crisp and aggressive on film. He seems very polished to me.

I don't believe ND will have the 2019 problem of only one effective receiver. OTOH, the 2020 receiving corps will be more focused on speed and I'm not yet sure the passing game will be able to make the most of that trait.

 

[IrishLax]

Damn, even Lenzy?

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Lenzy seems like a one-trick pony at the moment. He uses his speed to make plays and he makes a LOT of big plays, but would the player we saw this season get drafted? Certainly not. I try to evaluate talent on how they would project against the best of the best.

Austin has the physical gifts of an NFL WR. Lenzy would need to get better at route running, get better hands, etc. to show he can even be an every down player.

Jordan Johnson, like Austin, has NFL WR physical traits. Xavier Watts has absurd highlights and incredible body control/ball skills. If there's a player being slept on nationally right now, it's him. Brunelle has the opposite problem of Lenzy... is he fast enough? People are going to question his size and speed, but he does everything else at an elite level. He seems like the kind of guy that is a productive multi-year player with a ceiling of being a mid-round draft pick.

All of this is conjecture and projection, but Tyler Buchner throwing the ball to guys like Johnson and Watts is crazy to think about. I think ND is close to turning the corner when it comes to skill position talent.

 

[arrowryan]

Lenzy seems like a one-trick pony at the moment. He uses his speed to make plays and he makes a LOT of big plays, but would the player we saw this season get drafted? Certainly not. I try to evaluate talent on how they would project against the best of the best.

Austin has the physical gifts of an NFL WR. Lenzy would need to get better at route running, get better hands, etc. to show he can even be an every down player.

Jordan Johnson, like Austin, has NFL WR physical traits. Xavier Watts has absurd highlights and incredible body control/ball skills. If there's a player being slept on nationally right now, it's him. Brunelle has the opposite problem of Lenzy... is he fast enough? People are going to question his size and speed, but he does everything else at an elite level. He seems like the kind of guy that is a productive multi-year player with a ceiling of being a mid-round draft pick.

All of this is conjecture and projection, but Tyler Buchner throwing the ball to guys like Johnson and Watts is crazy to think about. I think ND is close to turning the corner when it comes to skill position talent.

I don't think Lenzy is any different than Fuller when Fuller was in his first year of playing. Like Lenzy, Fuller's hands were a little suspect; he tried to always catch the ball with his body and that resulted in multiple interceptions.

Personally, I love the way they're using Lenzy right now. He can obviously stretch the defense and he's successful on sweeps. They're not overloading his plate and they're letting him be successful at what he's comfortable at. In 2020 and 2021, I think he could transform himself into a high round draft pick.

 

[BabyIrish]

I don't think Lenzy is any different than Fuller when Fuller was in his first year of playing. Like Lenzy, Fuller's hands were a little suspect; he tried to always catch the ball with his body and that resulted in multiple interceptions.

Personally, I love the way they're using Lenzy right now. He can obviously stretch the defense and he's successful on sweeps. They're not overloading his plate and they're letting him be successful at what he's comfortable at. In 2020 and 2021, I think he could transform himself into a high round draft pick.

Lenzy was the reason TJJ could walk into the endzone on that screen play. The defense completely bit on the fake jet sweep. I agree that there's no reason for Lenzy not to get better and become similar to Fuller next year.

 

[IrishLax]

I don't think Lenzy is any different than Fuller when Fuller was in his first year of playing. Like Lenzy, Fuller's hands were a little suspect; he tried to always catch the ball with his body and that resulted in multiple interceptions.

Personally, I love the way they're using Lenzy right now. He can obviously stretch the defense and he's successful on sweeps. They're not overloading his plate and they're letting him be successful at what he's comfortable at. In 2020 and 2021, I think he could transform himself into a high round draft pick.

Yeah, but he's been here for two years even though it's his first year getting real snaps. Fuller by year two was head and shoulders more developed than Lenzy. Also, it's my opinion that Fuller is significantly faster than Lenzy and that will prove true at the combine.

I'm not saying Lenzy won't get there, I'm just saying he's not a complete player right now. I think he's a guy more likely to catch 30 balls next year than 50.

 

[arrowryan]

Yeah, but he's been here for two years even though it's his first year getting real snaps. Fuller by year two was head and shoulders more developed than Lenzy. Also, it's my opinion that Fuller is significantly faster than Lenzy and that will prove true at the combine.

I'm not saying Lenzy won't get there, I'm just saying he's not a complete player right now. I think he's a guy more likely to catch 30 balls next year than 50.

Fuller benefited from being the #1 and the other receivers being just okay. Lenzy will have to compete with Austin, Johnson, Tyree, Kmet, Mayer, etc. until he graduates. There is only one ball to go around.

It might not be a coincidence that this offense took off when Lenzy became a bigger part of the offense. I agree that he's not complete yet, but I think he's well on his way.

 

[Luckylucci]

Just keep in mind that Will Fuller as a Sophomore was a 76 catch, 1094 yards, and 15 TD guy. Then a 1st rd pick as a Junior. Lenzy isn’t on that trajectory.

 

[stlnd01]

Just keep in mind that Will Fuller as a Sophomore was a 76 catch, 1094 yards, and 15 TD guy. Then a 1st rd pick as a Junior. Lenzy isn’t on that trajectory.

But Lenzy didn't play as a freshman. This was effectively his first year and he probably isn't leaving after three. What did Fuller do as a true freshman? That seems like a more relevant comp.

 

[arrowryan]

But Lenzy didn't play as a freshman. This was effectively his first year and he probably isn't leaving after three. What did Fuller do as a true freshman? That seems like a more relevant comp.

6 for 160

 

[stlnd01]

Lenzy seems like a one-trick pony at the moment. He uses his speed to make plays and he makes a LOT of big plays, but would the player we saw this season get drafted? Certainly not. I try to evaluate talent on how they would project against the best of the best.

Austin has the physical gifts of an NFL WR. Lenzy would need to get better at route running, get better hands, etc. to show he can even be an every down player.

Jordan Johnson, like Austin, has NFL WR physical traits. Xavier Watts has absurd highlights and incredible body control/ball skills. If there's a player being slept on nationally right now, it's him. Brunelle has the opposite problem of Lenzy... is he fast enough? People are going to question his size and speed, but he does everything else at an elite level. He seems like the kind of guy that is a productive multi-year player with a ceiling of being a mid-round draft pick.

This is where I'd caution that Massachusetts high school football is not very good. Would like to see Brunelle against more elite competition before lining him up as a multi-year starter. But obvs the staff liked what they saw, so that's good.

 

[stlnd01]

6 for 160

Right. So Lenzy (10 catches for 247, 10 rushes for 188) is actually more productive. Now, if Lenzy goes 76 catches for 1000 yards next year, he'll be on the Fuller Track!

 

[greyhammer90]

But Lenzy didn't play as a freshman. This was effectively his first year and he probably isn't leaving after three. What did Fuller do as a true freshman? That seems like a more relevant comp.

That would seem to be an indication about Lenzy, wouldn't it?

Fuller as a sophomore had the same amount of time in the program as Lenzy has now, and Fuller is far and away the better WR thus far. I don't see why giving Lenzy an extra year is more "relevant" to the discussion.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

What's the history of camp offers under Kelly? I know the staff has offered and taken guys who weren't highly sought after but showed out at an ND camp but I'm struggling to remember names right now.

 

[arrowryan]

What's the history of camp offers under Kelly? I know the staff has offered and taken guys who weren't highly sought after but showed out at an ND camp but I'm struggling to remember names right now.

Kevin Stepherson. Great on the field, not so much off of it.

 

[stlnd01]

That would seem to be an indication about Lenzy, wouldn't it?

Fuller as a sophomore had the same amount of time in the program as Lenzy has now, and Fuller is far and away the better WR thus far. I don't see why giving Lenzy an extra year is more "relevant" to the discussion.

Because I'm more interested in their production at Notre Dame than their potential to be a three-and-out first round draft pick. I don't actually think Lenzy is better than Fuller, but I wouldn't act like his Notre Dame career is two-thirds over, either.

 

[BabyIrish]

Kevin Stepherson. Great on the field, not so much off of it.

Jack Kiser was another one I'm pretty sure

 

[KyfightingIrish36]

What's the history of camp offers under Kelly? I know the staff has offered and taken guys who weren't highly sought after but showed out at an ND camp but I'm struggling to remember names right now.

I know Bonner was a camp offer.

 

[NDdomer2]

Ade Ogundeji was a camp offer too i believe

 

[Luckylucci]

But Lenzy didn't play as a freshman. This was effectively his first year and he probably isn't leaving after three. What did Fuller do as a true freshman? That seems like a more relevant comp.

Because he wasn’t good enough or anywhere close to ready and that point. He’s publicly admitted as much. It’s not a knock on Lenzy, very few do what Fuller did. But Lenzy is not on the pace of development that Fuller was or even close.

 

[Luckylucci]

That would seem to be an indication about Lenzy, wouldn't it?

Fuller as a sophomore had the same amount of time in the program as Lenzy has now, and Fuller is far and away the better WR thus far. I don't see why giving Lenzy an extra year is more "relevant" to the discussion.

It’s not.

 

[Irish#1]

We'll just have to wait and see how he (Lenzy) does next year. His confidence seemed to grow with each game. That should translate into a big step next year.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Is this Braden Lenzy's thread? I'm so confused.