SOUTH BEND — Former Notre Dame football tight end Mitchell Evans is a big believer in his successor, Eli Raridon.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Evans made a point of calling Raridon “one of the most athletic dudes I’ve ever seen.” Evans went so far as to warn college football for what Raridon could do as a senior in 2025.
“Look out for a freaky year from him,” Evans said of the 6-foot-7, 251-pounder from Des Moines, Iowa.
All of this was news to Raridon when it was mentioned to him after Friday’s practice.
“That’s awesome,” Raridon said. “I appreciate that from Mitch. It’s really nice, and it means a lot coming from him."
While Raridon has career totals of just 16 receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns, the concept of a “freaky year” might be greater explanation. What would that look from Raridon’s perspective?
“I don’t know,” he said. “Just going out there and doing my thing.”
As for Evans serving as his personal hype man, Raridon said some of those raves have been delivered directly by his former teammate.
“He says it every now and then, just as kind of a joke,” Raridon said. “I appreciate that."
With junior Cooper Flanagan recovering from a torn left Achilles, the floor is open for Raridon to shine this spring and into the fall.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who doubles as Raridon’s position coach, sees all the attributes required for outsized production.
“Eli’s got a chance to become one of the really good ones here,” Denbrock said. “Incredible size, good movement skills, toughness. I really like where he’s headed as a player. He’s just going to continue to climb.”
After a pair of ACL tears in a 10-month span back in 2021-22, Raridon has emerged as a powerful blocker in the run game and a reliable weapon in the red zone. His scoring grabs last season came against Stanford in mid-October and at USC on Thanksgiving weekend.
Denbrock noticed the light flick on for Raridon after the early October bye week.
“Probably around midseason, it seemed like he was just coming on, coming on, coming on,” Denbrock said. “He just kept getting better.”
In addition to grasping the complexities of Denbrock’s system, which includes far more pre-snap movement than Raridon had previously been asked to perform, greater trust in his surgical right knee allowed Raridon to ascend.
“I think he was a little hesitant (previously),” Denbrock said. “Sometimes it’s just different for different guys. They’re healthy enough to play. They’re cleared to play. In their mind, do they believe they’re healthy enough to play? And are they able to cut themselves loose and play at a high level?”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the ...
