Notre Dame football suffered a significant loss in Saturday's 58-7 victory over Pitt.
Junior tight end Mitchell Evans tore the ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the 2023 season, head coach Marcus Freeman announced Monday. Evans was removed from Saturday's game after he took a hit to the legs at the end of a 13-yard reception with the Irish leading 37-0 late in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-4, 251-pound Evans is Notre Dame's leader in receptions (29) and receiving yards (422) through nine games. Pro Football Focus gave Evans the third-highest offensive grade for Notre Dame players with at least 250 snaps this season. Evans (80.2) trailed only running back Audric Estimé (90.9) and left tackle Joe Alt (89.8).
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Without Evans, who caught one touchdown pass on 425 offensive snaps, the Irish will have to more heavily rely on sophomore tight ends Holden Staes and Eli Raridon, freshman Cooper Flanagan and junior Davis Sherwood.
"You don’t make up for the production that Mitch gave our offense with one guy," Freeman said. "Every person in that tight ends room will be asked to do more. I’m confident they’ll be able to.”
Staes, who has played 181 offensive snaps this season, is the most proven of the group. The 6-4, 242-pounder played in all nine games and started six with the Irish liking to utilize two tight ends on the field at the same time. Staes leads the Irish in touchdown receptions with four from his 12 receptions for 163 yards.
The 6-3, 238-pound Sherwood is second among the remaining group in offensive snaps this season with 76, but he hadn't been asked to play tight end in the previous two games before playing late against Pitt. Sherwood has two catches this season for 18 yards and a touchdown that came against NC State.
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Raridon, who returned from an ACL injury suffered last season, was activated prior to the Louisville game and played 32 offensive snaps in the past three games. The 6-7, 250-pounder has yet to catch a pass in the eight games of his Notre Dame career.
The 6-6, 262-pound Flanagan's role has been limited to 62 offensive snaps this season, but he's played on offense in seven games this season. His first career catch, a 19-yard touchdown, came in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame's win Saturday.
Freeman also shared Monday that starting cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart are expected to play Saturday against Clemson (4-4) in Memorial Stadium (12 p.m. EDT on ABC). Morrison missed Saturday's game with a quad strain. Hart left the game with an upper-body injury.
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