Washington will be missing one of its top returning pass-catchers for the first quarter of the upcoming season.
Brayden Lenius, head coach Chris Petersen announced, “will not make a contribution the first three games” of 2016. Other than your standard unspecified violations of team rules, no reason for the three game suspension was given.
The suspension means the wide receiver will miss the opener against Rutgers Sept. 3, and the next two weeks against Idaho and Portland State as well. Provided he has crawled out of Petersen’s doghouse by then, the 6-5, 231-pound junior would be eligible to return for the Pac-12 opener against Arizona in Tucson Sept. 24.
Last season, Lenius, who started six games, was fourth on the Huskies with 26 receptions and fifth in receiving yards with 307. His three receiving touchdowns tied with two other players for the team lead.
With the departures of leading receiver Jaydon Mickens (58 catches) and second-leading receiver Joshua Perkins (36) for the NFL, Lenius is UW’s second-leading returning receiver.