Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. signs with Jacksonville Jaguars as undrafted free agent

Kevin Austin Jr. hoped a strong ending to his senior year at Notre Dame and an impressive NFL Combine would launch him from fringe draft pick to surefire selection.

Austin took his career-best 888 receiving yards, 18.5 yards per catch and seven touchdowns in 2021 and declared for the 2022 NFL Draft, foregoing his final year of eligibility.

It was a bet on himself – and one that looked wise when he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash and vertical jumped 39 inches at the combine. The latter ranked fifth among 34 receivers who participated. Heading into the week, mock drafts pegged Austin as a Day 3 pick, some as high as the fourth round and others as low as the seventh. A couple had him going undrafted.

Las Vegas didn’t bring him good fortune. Austin was not among the 262 selections or the 28 receivers picked during the three-day draft held in Sin City.

He did, though, find an NFL home within 30 minutes of the draft’s end. Austin has signed a rookie free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates.

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In 26 career games at Notre Dame, Austin caught 54 passes for 996 yards and seven touchdowns. He started all 13 games in 2021 after playing just two from 2019-20.

When healthy, Austin generated as much buzz as any Notre Dame offensive player during his four seasons. It started when he first arrived as a top-100 recruit in the 2018 class from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) North Broward Prep. He played 11 games as a freshman, logging five receptions for 90 yards. The highlight was a 38-yard catch-and-run in a win over Navy.

His rise halted when he missed all of 2019 due to a suspension. But only publicly. Austin could still practice. He was one of the Irish’s consistent head-turners that fall behind closed doors.

“Kevin Austin is going to be a star,” Claypool told reporters at the 2020 NFL Combine. “I’ve been saying it all along.”

Austin offered media a peek and fueled the breakout hype with a dominant day in Notre Dame’s first 2020 spring practice. It turned out to be the only spring practice.

COVID-19 sent everyone home, pausing a potential breakout yet again. Injuries sideswiped it when he returned. He suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture in his left foot during a late July team workout. He returned in limited action for an Oct. 10 game vs. Florida State. His workload increased the following week vs. Louisville and included an 18-yard catch.

Oct. 24 at Pittsburgh was the target date for removing the training wheels. Instead, Austin re-broke his foot two days prior, ending his season. He returned at full health for fall camp and looked as if he never took time off.

His 2021 season began with a four-catch, 91-yard outing at Florida State with a 37-yard touchdown. He was ready for takeoff, it appeared. Not quite. Austin caught zero of his eight targets two weeks later against Purdue and was dominated in a matchup with Cincinnati cornerback (and eventual No. 4 overall pick) Sauce Gardner on Oct. 2. He put the ups and downs behind him, though, and produced three 100-yard games in his last five outings.

All told, Austin led Notre Dame in receiving yards and yards per catch (18.5). He tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions. Will Fuller V is the only Irish receiver since 2009 with a better single-season yards per reception mark (minimum 30 catches). But his limited production, injury history and inconsistencies in 2021 still led to a “return to school” grade when he asked the NFL College Advisory board for feedback. Austin, ever confident in his abilities, took the plunge anyway.

“After I graduated, I felt it was time to move onto the next level,” he said at the combine.

His combine performance commanded attention and put precedent on his side. All but one wide receiver who ran a 4.45 or better 40 and jumped at least 39 inches at the combine from 2013-20 was selected (there was no combine in 2021).

Notre Dame had two players picked this year, safety Kyle Hamilton (first round, 14th overall) and running back Kyren Williams (fifth round, 164th overall). The 2022 draft marks the first one since 2017 where Notre Dame did not have a wide receiver chosen.