Eli Raridon has had a great week on the recruiting front, netting offers from Minnesota, Northwestern and Notre Dame. When the West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley class of 2022 tight end landed an offer from the Fighting Irish, it may have been the biggest moment in his recruitment to this point.
Eli’s father, Scott Jr., was a four-star offensive tackle in the 2002 class and signed with the Fighting Irish. He played for the Fighting Irish until 2006. Scott Sr., Eli’s grandfather, was Notre Dame’s strength and conditioning coach under Lou Holtz when the Irish captured the 1988 national championship.
“It’s just a huge offer for me; I’m super pumped,” Raridon said.
Most of the Raridon family is on a skiing trip in Colorado this week, and Eli is staying with Scott Sr. this week. When the young Raridon earned the Notre Dame scholarship offer, his first call was to his grandfather, and then they looped in Scott Jr. on the phone call.
“He was freaking out,” Eli said of his grandfather. “It was a really cool moment.
“This week – to say the least – has been crazy. I got three offers in two days, and Notre Dame was obviously a huge one for me with all of the tight end success they’ve had. Their tight ends coach [John McNulty] was telling me that every starting tight end since 2006 has been drafted and played in the NFL.”
Notre Dame didn’t start showing interest in Raridon until “a month or two ago,” as the staff contacted his father and said that they were going to be keeping tabs on his son. The Irish already have a tight end pledge from Milton (Ga.) High’s Jack Nickel but decided to take an additional tight end in the 2022 class.
“Last week, Coach [Tommy] Rees followed me on Twitter and asked for my number. That’s when I knew something was up,” Raridon said. “We set up a call for Friday, so I called him, and he told me that he really liked my film and a bunch of good things about Notre Dame.”
The next time Raridon spoke with Rees, it was the offer conversation, which took place on Feb. 9. Later that day, Raridon spoke with tight ends coach John McNulty as well.
“He’s a great guy,” Raridon said of McNulty. “I get along with him really well. He’s a great coach.”
Moving forward in his recruiting process, Raridon is in no rush, but he recognizes that some things are out of his control.
“I would love to visit places if the dead period lifts, so I can meet coaches face to face and see campus,” he said. “If the dead period gets pushed back to the late summer or fall, I may have to rethink things. I’m not exactly sure.”
Florida State, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Missouri and West Virginia are some of the notable offers for Raridon. The two schools in Iowa are considered to be Notre Dame’s top competition, but the Irish will be tough to beat.
“Notre Dame is going to be very hard to turn down, in my opinion,” Raridon said. “There are some other schools I’m pretty interested in too though, so it’s going to be a difficult decision for me.
“We’re all super excited. I still can’t stop thinking about the offer. It’s a really cool thing for me.”
Rivals ranks Raridon as the nation’s No. 18 tight end and No. 5 player in Iowa.
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