Notre Dame Tight End Mitchell Evans Is Out For The Season

Notre Dame junior tight end Mitchell Evans has put together an outstanding 2023 season, but that season has now come to an end. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman announced that Evans is set to have season-ending knee surgery after suffering an ACL injury in the 58-7 win over Pittsburgh.

Evans has battled injuries throughout his career, and he missed the Central Michigan game in September. He will now miss Notre Dame's final three games and the post season.

It's a tough loss for Notre Dame and a tough break for Evans, who was playing outstanding football for the Irish. Evans leads the Notre Dame offense with 29 catches and 422 yards. He has caught at least four passes and racked up at least 66 yards in four of the past five games. That includes a brilliant 7-catch, 134-yard performance against Duke. Evans has hauled in multiple highlight reel grabs this season.

With Evans out the Irish will turn to sophomore Holden Staes, who started the CMU game when Evans was out. Staes has 12 catches for 163 yards on the season, but he leads Notre Dame with four touchdown catches. Staes had an excellent performance in Notre Dame's 45-24 win over NC State, catching four balls for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He's caught two passes in each of the last three games.

The Irish have been playing four tight ends for much of the last month of the season, but now the reps will get ramped up for young players Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan.

Raridon is a former Top 100 recruit that missed the first half of the season with a knee injury, but he has played in each of Notre Dame's last three games. Raridon has yet to catch a pass in his career, but he was considered a top pass game threat when he signed with Notre Dame.

Flanagan has been used as a blocker this season, and he's been quite good at it so far. The freshman did haul in a 19-yard touchdown pass against Pittsburgh. That was his first career catch.

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