In his first experience with a media scrum since tearing the ACL in his right knee for the second time in less than a year last fall, Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon was confronted Saturday after spring practice No. 3 with a question about which of his teammates liked burnt hamburgers.
Probably not covered in his media training or on the 6-foot-7, 249-pound sophomore’s Bingo card of possible queries, but he handled it with the same finesse (a polite I don’t know) that he seems to be managing a recovery rerun.
Even though it can be much more repulsive at times than perhaps a burnt hamburger for Raridon, who apparently prefers his with some pink in the middle.
“It can be mentally draining seeing everyone play out here and you’re sitting out here,” he told the media group. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”
At least he has company, and that’s helped coax him through the tough days mentally.
Senior tight end Kevin Bauman tore his left ACL in late September, about three and a half weeks before Raridon’s right one gave way in a non-contract October practice drill. The 6-5, 252-pound Bauman the year before suffered a fractured left fibula in practice in the days leading up to ND’s 2021 season opener at Florida State, but didn’t realize it until during the actual game. He underwent surgery and missed the next two months of that season.
Together they and five other convalescing players are stationed in a corner of the Irish Athletics Center called, “The Pit”, where they ride stationary bikes and perform exercises and drills during practice time to keep the rest of them from atrophying while rehabbing their particular injuries.
“We’ve gotten really close, because we’re about in the same process in our recovery,” Raridon said of Bauman. “Every lift we’ve been lifting together. We’ve been doing The Pit over there. It kind of sucks, but having him through it and going through the same thing as him, it really helps both of us.
“When we’re doing physical therapy together, and we don’t want to be there. It’s not really like a verbal thing. It’s more like I see him working. I have to work too.”
Where Raridon is specifically in this recovery/rehab process is having a green light to do everything from a weight-lifting standpoint and to do some straight-ahead running.
“Only thing I’m not doing is cutting and sprinting,” he said. “At four-and-a-half months, I feel like I’m doing really good.
“This summer, in June, it’ll be six months. So I think I’ll run and lift with the team full go. I’ll probably stay away from football drills until mid-July. So, by fall camp (in August) I’ll be good to go.”
By that time, the number of available tight ends will have doubled, with Raridon, Bauman and June-arriving freshman Cooper Flanagan joining spring participants, juniors Mitchell Evans and Davis Sherwood, along with sophomore Holden Staes.
Raridon is still perceived by many to be the highest-ceiling prospect of the six, though Evans is in the No.1 position for now as life after All-American and future first-round draft choice Michael Mayer has begun.
The time between knee rehabs — fall camp and games 2 through 6 of last season specifically — proved valuable in nudging Raridon in that direction, even if he’s still looking for his first career catch.
Then again, no one actually other than Mayer was particularly prolific in 2022, with the Notre Dame career, single-season and single-game record-holder grabbing a team-leading 67 receptions and the other tight ends on the roster a collective seven. And three of those came in the 45-38 Gator Bowl win over South Carolina, a game in which Mayer had opted out.
But Raridon thrived and perhaps surprised in his blocking assignments. As a run blocker only All-American left tackle Joe Alt and Mayer had higher grades from Pro Football Focus last season than did Raridon (78.9).
“It was definitely an awakening from high school,” said Raridon, who starred at Valley High in West Des Moines, Iowa. “I remember my first fall camp. We were in helmets and spiders — it wasn’t full pads. I remember going in my first play thinking it would be 50%, and they were going 100%.
“It was a really good experience for me this year to get some playing time, block these guys who are a lot different than the guys I was blocking (the previous) year. I’ve learned so much already in the film room with different coverages, route running and blocking. It’s been really good. That playing time was really huge in my development here.”
Raridon said he had the strength to be a good blocker last season, but not necessarily the heft. He played at 240 in those five games in 2022, is 249 now and plans to be at 260 when the Irish open the 2023 season in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 26 against Navy.
“Coach Parker’s helped me a lot with my blocking,” Raridon said of Notre Dame’s second-year tight ends coach, Gerad Parker, who was elevated to offensive coordinator last month while retaining his position group duties. “Just footwork in general. We work on it every day.
“Taking those first two steps vertical, because I can tend to take a false step when I’m blocking. Your hips are so important in blocking. He really emphasizes that. We do a lot of drills that correlate to hips and footwork. It’s helped me a lot.”
And Raridon can’t wait to get back to doing those.
His first ACL tear came while playing in a high school basketball game. His second practicing football on artificial turf, and he’s convinced turf — which Notre Dame practices and plays its home games on — makes a player more prone to knee injuries than natural grass.
“I try not to think about it too much,” he said. “When I come out here, I’m not going to think about that. I’m going to be confident. I have nothing to lose.”
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