Notre Dame football will be without its starting tight end in Saturday's home game against Central Michigan (2:30 p.m. EDT on Peacock).
The program announced one hour before the game that junior tight end Mitchell Evans would not be available but did not provide further details.
Evans caught five passes for 63 yards in the past two games after the tight end position wasn't targeted with a passes in the Aug. 26 season opener against Navy.
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The absence of Evans will give sophomore tight end Holden Staes even more action after his breakout performance in last week's 45-24 victory at NC State. Staes caught four passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Staes also caught a four-yard touchdown pass against Tennessee State.
Junior tight end Davis Sherwood, who caught his first career touchdown last week against NC State, should see an expanded role as well. Sophomore tight end Eli Raridon has yet to play this season as he recovers from a second ACL injury last year, but he was active in pregame warmups. Freshman tight end Cooper Flanagan has played in all three games this season but has not caught a pass.
The only other player on Notre Dame's Monday depth chart not available in Saturday's game is linebacker JD Bertrand, as previously announced by head coach Marcus Freeman. Bertrand is in concussion protocol.
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