UW receiver Brayden Lenius is back, and maybe better than ever

By Adam Jude

The Seattle Times

He is 6 feet 5 inches tall and plays wide receiver. That has always made Washington’s Brayden Lenius an intriguing figure on a football field.

There’s added intrigue now that Lenius is back on the field in good health and in good standing with UW coaches.

Lenius did not play in 2016, a year in which he was injured, suspended and ultimately redshirted.

“I think that year off … helped me a lot. He grew up a lot,” fellow receiver Dante Pettis said. “I think it kind of lit a fire under him and he’s like, ‘OK, I need to be back out there.’

“When you miss a year, you’re sitting on the sideline, I guess you have a lot of time to think. And I think that helped him. He had a great spring ball, and he’s been having a really good fall camp so far. I would love to get him back out there on the field with me.”

Lenius has been working mostly with the second-team offense through the first eight practices of fall camp. During Friday’s practice inside Husky Stadium, he made one of the best catches of camp’s first week when he leaped near the left sideline and hauled in a pass with only his left hand.

“I think he’s just got to keep gaining that confidence that he can go up and get the ball,” quarterback Jake Browning said. “Obviously, he’s a big body. Some of the measurable things. I think you have to have confidence with it too. When you jump up to go get the ball, you have to have the confidence that you’re going to come down with it. He’s getting better and better in that regard. He’s got the physical tools for it.”

Lenius, from North Vancouver, B.C., had shown similar flashes of potential when he appeared in all 14 games as true freshman in 2014. In 2015, he was one of the most productive receivers on the team, starting six games and finishing the season with 26 catches for 306 yards and three TDs.

An undisclosed injury then kept him out of spring ball in 2016. By August 2016, he had been suspended for three games for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Lenius has not been made available for media interviews since the 2015 season.

There isn’t an obvious path to playing time for him this season. It’s a crowded field at receiver, with Pettis and Chico McClatcher the established stars. Andre Baccellia has joined them most often with the first-team offense, and Aaron Fuller and Quinten Pounds are making a push for expanded roles, too. Another big receiver, 6-4 freshman Ty Jones, has also impressed at times during camp.

Lenius will have to earn his time.

“The best thing about him is his attitude,” said co-offensive coordinator Matt Lubick, UW’s third wide receivers coach in four years. “He has the mindset, he’s trying to improve every day. He had a really good spring. He got better every practice. …

“I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”