Notre Dame WR Joe Wilkins Jr. out for rest of spring due to Lisfranc injury
The already thin Notre Dame spring wide receiver roster took another hit this week.
Grad student Joe Wilkins Jr. will miss the rest of spring due to a Lisfranc injury, head coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday. He had surgery Friday to repair it. Wilkins is expected back for the regular season, per Freeman.
“He rolled it up last Saturday,” Freeman said. “We didn’t know how bad it was, but it ended up being a Lisfranc.”
Notre Dame is down to five scholarship receivers for the rest of the spring without Wilkins, who worked with the first-team offense at boundary receiver in the March 26 practice open to media. Grad student Avery Davis is also not participating as he recovers from ACL surgery.
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Grad student Braden Lenzy, grad student Matt Salerno, sophomore Deion Colzie, sophomore Lorenzo Styles and sophomore Jayden Thomas are the remaining healthy receivers. Freshman Tobias Merriweather arrives in June. Walk-on Conor Ratigan earned second-team reps in the open practice. The Irish completed spring practice No. 8 of 15 (including the Blue-Gold Game) Saturday.
The 6-1, 195-pound Wilkins returned for spring practice after MCL surgery last October. He suffered the injury in a loss to Cincinnati last fall. Prior to it, he had four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. He caught seven passes for 63 yards and one touchdown in 2020. He appeared in eight total games from 2018-19, with two punt returns and no catches. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining, including 2022.
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“You hear about the injuries he’s had, but what a tough kid,” Freeman said. “He can overcome adversity. He’s in a good mind frame.”
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Wilkins’ breakout game was a four-catch, 39-yard outing in the 2020 opener against Duke. He caught only three more passes all season, though.
His 2021 offseason was a success by all accounts. He accumulated more summer workout points than any wide receiver on the roster. His efforts led to a spot in the rotation in a thin receiver room. Wilkins averaged 16 snaps per game in the four full contests before his injury. The highlight was a 23-yard touchdown on a jump ball in the opener at Florida State.
Notre Dame signed Wilkins as a three-star recruit in the 2018 class. He was the No. 750 overall player and the No. 81 cornerback, per the On3 Consensus. The Irish moved him to receiver before his freshman year fall camp.
