Eli Raridon's freshman season has ended before he recorded his first career catch.

The 6-foot-7, 245-pound tight end tore the ACL in his right knee this week in a non-contact situation, head coach Marcus Freeman said Thursday, and will be sidelined for the rest of the season to undergo surgery.

Raridon, who previously recovered from a torn ACL in the same knee last December, played in the last five games for Notre Dame (3-3).

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Raridon and fellow freshman tight end Holden Staes found small roles in Notre Dame's offense for the first half of the season. Raridon's absence will likely increase the usage of Staes, who has played in four games and started against North Carolina. Staes recorded his first career catch, an 11-yard gain, against BYU.

The return of sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans, who recovered from a summer foot injury, became even more important. Evans caught two passes for 21 yards as a freshman last season. He served as the No. 2 tight end behind and alongside starter Michael Mayer against Stanford on Saturday.

"Holden is continuing to get better," Freeman said. "What you're going to see is now with those three tight ends — Mayer, Mitch Evans and Holden — being your top three guys. Holden's game plan and what he's going to be asked to do will increase. He's up for the challenge.

"He's an extremely intelligent kid. He's improving daily. I look forward to seeing what he does with this increased role."

The Irish also have available sophomore tight ends Davis Sherwood, who has played in all six games on special teams and five games on offense, and Cane Berrong, who suffered a torn ACL last October. Berrong has yet to play in a game this season.

Junior tight end Kevin Bauman was previously lost for the season with a torn ACL last month. Bauman caught three passes for 44 yards in the first three games of the season.

Mayer leads the Irish in all three receiving categories: 38 catches, 411 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

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