Notre Dame Young Tight Ends Get A Massive Bowl Opportunity

There is no question that the Notre Dame tight end group will look a lot different in the Sun Bowl matchup against Oregon State than what we saw the majority of the 2023 season.

Standout tight end Mitchell Evans went down with a season-ending injury in the 58-7 win over Pittsburgh, and sophomore tight end Holden Staes announced his decision to transfer following the season. This duo spent the majority of the season as the one-two punch at tight end, combining for 44 catches and 598 yards and five touchdowns.

The position group will be far less experienced than what it was during the season, but it will certainly be talented. Those departures open up incredible opportunities for sophomore tight end Eli Raridon and freshman Cooper Flanagan.

Notre Dame has been here before for a bowl game. Last season, star tight end Michael Mayer announced decided to sit out the bowl game, which thrust Evans and Staes into prime roles after they served mostly as backups.

The parallels between Evans and Raridon's ascension into the starting lineup is eerily similar. Evans was a rotation player as a true freshman in 2021, but an injury kept him out of the first five games of the season. He returned and took on a blocking role, and Evans entered the bowl game with just two career catches for 21 yards, both of which came during his freshman season.

Evans stepped into the lineup after Mayer departed and he played quite well, hauling in three catches for 39 yards in the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina, including the game winning touchdown pass.

Raridon missed the first six games of this season while recovering from an injury of his own, and he came back as a key blocker in the Irish offense. He saw his playing time get a big jump after Evans went down, and injuries have thrust him into the primary tight end role. First with Staes going down prior to the Stanford game, and then after Staes transferred.

Raridon and Flanagan started the win over Stanford, and Raridon also got a two-tight end start against Wake Forest.

This duo will be counted on for very important minutes against Oregon State, and it's not just about replacing the departed tight ends. Notre Dame's wide receiver depth chart was also decimated by the transfer portal, so the tight ends will need to help replace the lost production in the pass game.

Raridon showed in the 45-7 win over Wake Forest that he can be a dangerous weapon in the pass game. His vertical speed and height make him dangerous, and if he can use this opportunity to make a statement he'll give the offense a big boost, but also cement himself as a key figure in the offense next season. He came to Notre Dame as a highly ranked recruit and he oozes big time talent, and now he gets a chance to show he can be "the guy" at the position.

Flanagan has been primarily a blocker so far this season, but he did impress on his one catch this season, which went for a 19-yard touchdown in the win over Pittsburgh. He'll continue that role against Oregon State, but if Notre Dame uses a lot of 12 personnel looks in the Sun Bowl he will need to be ready to make plays in the pass game as well.

Notre Dame will be young at tight end in the bowl game, but there is a lot of size and talent. If they can finish strong in similar fashion to what Evans did last season we'll be talking about the Irish tight end room being one of the nation's best heading into 2024 as we project Raridon and Flanagan with an extra year of experience and the expected return of Evans.