SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Eli Raridon still sees a blurred finish line when it comes to his recovery from an ACL tear last October, the second time his right knee had required major surgery in a 10-month span.
But the Notre Dame sophomore tight end, still with perhaps the highest potential among the six players in that position group on the now Michael Mayer-less Irish roster, is still practicing football to some extent while he practices patience full throttle.
“I'm evaluating where I am with the trainers every 10 practices,” the 6-foot-7, 250-pound Des Moines, Iowa, product said Thursday after a sweltering training camp practice No. 2. The team practiced indoors Friday to dodge a thunderstorm.
“But I've got a little work to do,” Raridon continued, “as far as gaining leg mass and strength, and just a couple more testing stuff before I can be full go.
“I'm in no rush. I want to feel 100 percent. I don't want anything, even a little, like ‘this hurts a little bit’. I want this leg to feel exactly like my other leg before I go out there, and it's mainly just a confidence thing. I just want to feel really confident before I go out.”
His best guess at a timetable for feeling 100 percent is a month from now, which would sync up with a few days after Notre Dame’s Aug. 26 season opener with Navy in Dublin, Ireland.
Senior tight end Kevin Bauman — who tore his left ACL three games into last season, in late September — got his 100 percent stamp of approval about a week and a half ago. The two convalescents have been a part of each other’s support systems during their recoveries.
“There’s no limitations,” Bauman said, “just kind of limiting the load for practice. But in terms of contact, cutting, running, blocking, I’m 100 percent in that. I’m able to do everything, but they’re kind of easing me back into everything.”
For Raridon, the easing-back stage still includes no practice periods with contact or even when the defense is on the field with the offense.
“I'm just limited with my competitive reps,” he said, “so I can do air routes and walking through plays and blocks and stuff.”
Raridon’s next career catch will be his first. But that’s also the case for freshman Cooper Flanagan and former walk-on and junior Davis Sherwood, half of the tight end contingent. The other three stepping into the void of Mayer’s departure to the NFL — Bauman, sophomore Holden Staes and junior Mitchell Evans — have a combined 11 career receptions.
Mayer had that many in a single game last season, against BYU, breaking his own school record.
Evans, a former high school quarterback, appears to have the inside track on being the new TE1, but there’s plenty of competition for the roles in multiple-tight end sets. And Raridon has the talent and work ethic to be in that mix — eventually.
In the five games in which he did see game action last season before the injury, he recorded an impressive run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus’ film evaluations (78.9) — third on the team behind only All-American left tackle Joe Alt and All-American Mayer. And this summer, he got in extra pass-catching reps using Notre Dame’s new Monarc Seeker machine, billed as the world’s first robotic quarterback.
“It senses where you are,” Raridon said. “[and] if the ball is high or low or off to the side, where you have to [go] get it. It's not like a normal JUGS machine, where it's in the middle every time. It can sense where you are. It's very nice to have. …
“I'm still working my butt off trying to get back,” he said, “but it's just a matter of time.”
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Beyond Balis
Members of the tight end group reflected on Tuesday’s announcement that director of football performance Matt Balis resigned just ahead of his seventh season, citing personal reasons.
“No one saw it coming.” Raridon said. “We wish nothing but the best for Balis. We all loved him. He had to do what he had to do. He was very big on mental strength and mental toughness, and it really taught me to push my limits and go as hard as I possibly can.”
“I have so much gratitude for the work that he’s done for this program, especially for me, coming in my freshman year,” Bauman said. “He’s been a big influence to me, always pushing me and the guys. He was truly a special man.
“Everyone here is very grateful for him. The news came as a shock to all of us, I think. Obviously, we wish him the best, want him to do what’s best for himself and his family, but we still have work to do.
“I think he’s been taking some time to himself. I shot him a quick text, thanking him. He’s keeping it to himself right now, focusing on what he needs to focus on, which we all understand.”
Balis’ top assistant, Fred Hale, was named to replace the 51-year-old Chicago native on an interim basis for the rest of the 2023 season.
“He’s the right man for the job in terms of a promotion/an interim guy,” Bauman offered. “He has a similar style to Balis but brings his own differences and quirks, for lack of a better word. He’s commanding. All the guys in the locker room love him, so I think he’s a great guy to take over the position.
“We all love and respect him and trust him, which I think is great. To work your hardest, you have to trust the people that are leading you, right? So that trust factor we have with him from being around for a couple of years now — we all love working for him.”
Doing a number on freshman Flanagan
Notre Dame’s sixth-string tight end, freshman Cooper Flanagan, got razzed about his choice in uniform numbers — 87, which happened to be last worn by the tight end who owns almost every tight end receiving record in Notre Dame history, Las Vegas Raiders rookie Michael Mayer.
“To be honest, there weren’t a lot of 80 numbers [available], and I was pretty set on an 80 number coming in,” he said. “So, I mean, why not try to take the challenge?”
Besides, he actually called Mayer and got his permission to wear his old number.
“Big shoes to fill,” he said. “I was just making sure that I have the OK.”
Flanagan was listed at 6-foot-5, 239 pounds as a senior at perennial national power Concord (Calif.) De La Salle, the same school that produced 2022 Irish All-America defensive end Isaiah Foskey.
He showed up in June at 6-6, close to 270, and admitted the dramatic size gain wasn’t totally intentional.
“I was dealing with injuries after high school, so I couldn’t really condition,” he said. “I knew when I’d get here, I’d lose some pounds pretty quickly. I wasn’t worried about it.”
Flanagan said he’s already down to 258 [from 262 at the start of camp], and that his biggest challenge now is just absorbing the playbook.
“It’s huge,” he said. “I just try to take it day-by-day, practice-by-practice, trying to learn. If I can get on the field, that’s great. That’s what I want. But at the end of the day, I can’t really do more than give it all I’ve got on the field during practice.”
Staes also plays a numbers game
Sophomore tight end Holden Staes ditched his No. 85 from his freshman season and is now wearing No. 13, which he says has long been a lucky number in his family.
Luckier still was having the chance to have Mayer as a roommate in last August’s preseason camp.
“In terms of what I learned from him, in terms of my game,” Staes said, “I would say just route creativity. Mike wasn't the fastest guy, but he just knew how to get open. He knew how to use his size and put it on defenders to then bounce off them. So, just stuff like that in the route game, just being very decisive, deceptive, just stuff like that. I've tried to translate to mine as well.”
And how might that translate to a sophomore surge?
“I'll keep it to myself for now,” he said. “Y’all will have ‘til the fall to see that.”
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