Texas WR Kennedy Lewis returns to the team

The time away from the team for Kennedy Lewis has ended.

On Monday, Jeff Howe of Horns247 reported that the redshirt freshman Texas Longhorns wide receiver was among the players who returned to campus and will begin voluntary workouts next week. The following day, the school confirmed his return to Inside Texas and Lewis is once again listed on the roster.

In late February, Lewis was temporarily suspended from the team and returned home to take junior college courses for the spring semester, but was expected to return for summer workouts. Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Lewis wasn’t set back as much as expected — Texas was never able to go through the 15 spring practices that Lewis was supposed to miss.

A signee in the 2019 recruiting class as a consensus three-star prospect out of Melissa, Lewis was a late-rising prospect who committed to TCU shortly after receiving an offer from Texas in June of 2018. The Longhorns were able to get him on campus for an official visit that October and landed a commitment from Lewis before the early signing period.

After arriving on campus last summer after running a 10.53 100m as a senior, Lewis appeared in two games for Texas — Rice and Oklahoma State — recording a 37-yard catch against the Owls that remained his only statistical contribution as he redshirted.

With the departures of Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay, Texas is looking to replace a significant amount of production at the position, so Lewis will have an opportunity to emerge as a contributor this year.

Possessing a rare combination of size and speed, Lewis has plenty of untapped potential.

He’s expected to compete for playing time at the Z position with redshirt sophomore Joshua Moore and redshirt sophomore Al’Vonte Woodard. Michigan graduate transfer Tarik Black and redshirt freshman Marcus Washington could also figure into the mix at that position.