Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. declares for NFL Draft
Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. went from behind-the-scenes marvel to starter and long-awaited impact player in his senior year.
The breakout was enough for him to take the next plunge: The NFL Draft.
Austin is bypassing a graduate season at Notre Dame and declaring for the 2022 draft, he announced Sunday on social media. The news was first reported by The Athletic.
With his departure, Notre Dame loses its leading receiver from 2021. Austin caught 48 passes for a team-best 888 yards and tied tight end Michael Mayer for the team lead with seven touchdown receptions. He averaged 18.5 yards per catch.
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Without Austin, Notre Dame has just seven scholarship receivers with eligibility for 2022. Its December signing class included just one player at the position, four-star recruit Tobias Merriweather. They signed three in the 2021 class, Lorenzo Styles, Deion Colzie and Jayden Thomas. All saw playing time this season, with Styles starting the last four games.
Notre Dame’s receiver turnover could extend beyond Austin. The Irish are awaiting fifth-year decisions from receivers Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins Jr. Avery Davis also has a sixth season of eligibility if he wants to use it.
If Austin ended this season by declaring for the draft, it was going to reflect well on Notre Dame’s 2021 offense. The Irish needed a field-stretching, go-to target at receiver to add an explosive element that was missing in the passing offense a year ago. Austin was the easily identifiable top candidate. He was a closed-door practice standout in 2019 while serving a suspension and a likely 2020 starter before two foot fractures wrecked those hopes.
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Austin gave Notre Dame that, albeit after some early-season bumps. He caught at least 75 percent of his targets in six of his final eight games. That stretch followed a one-catch game against Cincinnati potential first-round pick cornerback Sauce Garnder Oct. 2. He caught zero of eight targets two weeks earlier against Purdue.
All told, Austin posted three 100-yard games this year. He caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in Notre Dame’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday in his final game with the Irish. He scored in four of his last six games.
The injuries and suspension limited Austin to two games and one catch from 2019-20. He had five receptions for 90 yards as a freshman in 2018.
Austin was the No. 114 recruit in the 2018 class, per the On3 Consensus rankings. He chose Notre Dame in August 2017 from a list of more than 30 offers.
