Notre Dame Week 14 highlight: Riley Leonard hits Eli Raridon following another Jeremiyah Love leap

Notre Dame scores after another Love leap.

Notre Dame’s final drive of the first half against USC was a bit of nail-biter.

The No. 5 Fighting Irish had to convert a fourth-and-one — just barely — before quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] found [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] for a 12-yard touchdown reception. It was Leonard who just barely got the first down on a quarterback run.

The pass followed another long run by RB [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] — one that included yet another hurdle of a defender. That one was good for 20 yards.

Love’s leap will make more than a few highlight films, but Leonard’s pass to Riordan was what put points on the board.

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) leaps over Army Black Knights cornerback Donavon Platt (28) for a touchdown during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight — Eli Raridon finds the end zone

Add Eli Raridon to the score sheet.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard has distributed the ball around to eight different receivers against the Stanford Cardinal — nine, if you count offensive lineman Pat Coogan catching a deflected pass.

Tight end Eli Raridon’s first catch of the day ended up being a 5-yard touchdown reception that finished off a 5-play, 64-yard drive that burned 2:37 off the clock. Raridon scored with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Notre Dame now leads the Cardinal 42-7.

Any concern about the Irish overlooking Stanford after a slow start seems to have evaporated.

Notre Dame’s Eli Raridon during Notre Dame Fall Camp on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at Irish Athletics Center in South Bend, Indiana.

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Social media reacts to two more third-quarter Notre Dame touchdown

Another big third-quarter score on the ground.

Notre Dame has been the home to some decent running backs in recent years. The big duo for the program at the moment consists of [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag]. Price already had a third-quarter touchdown against Stanford, so Love decided he wanted in on the action.

After the Irish’s defense stopped the Cardinal’s offense yet again, it was time for possession to change hands. Love had been held scoreless in the game up to this point and decided to attack after the Cardinal were called for roughing the passer. That attack came in the form of a 39-yard touchdown run to extend the Irish’s lead to 35-7:

One possession later, [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] hit [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] for a 5-yard touchdown, and the rout was on at Notre Dame Stadium to the tune of a 42-7 score.

At this point, it’s only a matter of time before the Irish bask in their victory. That’s not presumptuous but what must be accepted as reality. If you don’t believe that, read some of the below reactions we found on social media regarding these two scores:

Watch: Steve Angeli finds Eli Raridon for first score of Notre Dame’s spring game

Angeli to Raridon for the first score of the Blue and Gold game

The first few minutes of Notre Dame football’s spring game was pretty boring, but that all changed when the Blue team found the end zone.

Quarterback [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag], who led the Irish to an impressive win in the Sun Bowl, looks like he has picked up where he left off. He was accurate and on time with his throws, moving his team down the field.

On 3rd-and-ten Angeli made a fantastic hard count to get the defense to jump offsides. The “free play” saw the sophomore find tight end [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] over the middle, who juggled the ball, got control and powered his way for the first score of the Blue and Gold game.

Big things are expect from both players, even if Angeli is expected to be Riley Leonard’s backup when the season begins.

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Social media reacts to Eli Raridon scoring touchdown for Notre Dame

Nice job, young man.

Notre Dame’s home finale against Wake Forest is turning into a game in which some unlikely names are contributing. We already have seen touchdowns from [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] and [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag]. Now, we have one from [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag], who didn’t really have any stats next to his name before this contest. That didn’t stop him from catching a 19-yard scoring pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]:

Raridon is a sophomore tight end and has a lot of time still to make his mark on the Irish. One touchdown won’t do a lot to move the needle, but he at least showed that he has the potential to move it even further. Hopefully, this is the first of many big plays he’ll make for the program over the next few years.

Once again, social media found itself in the position of reacting to a player most people weren’t think about before the game. Here are some of those reactions:

Top Notre Dame receiver Mitchell Evans out for season with torn ACL

Big loss for the Irish.

Notre Dame will be without its top receiver for the rest of the season. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] confirmed Monday that tight end [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] tore his ACL in Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh.

Evans, who was in his junior season, currently is the Irish’s top receiver with 422 yards on 29 receptions. He is averaging 14.6 yards a receptions and has scored one touchdown, which came in the loss to Louisville.

This obviously is a tough blow to an Irish offense that has been starting to find its groove again after going through a tough stretch. [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] now will have to dig further into the depth chart.

[autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag] has scored the second-most touchdowns for the Irish this season at four, but this also will open up more opportunities from [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] and [autotag]Cooper Flanagan[/autotag]. Still, they probably wish it was happening under better circumstances.

Hopefully, we’ll see Evans in an Irish uniform again before too long. Until then, here’s to a speedy recovery.

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Notre Dame loses another tight end for season

The third Notre Dame tight end to tear an ACL at practice in almost exactly a year.

The injuries continue to pile up for Notre Dame. On Thursday it was announced freshman tight end [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL. Raridon underwent ACL surgery less than a year ago (December 2021) but was ready for fall camp and contributed as a true freshman.

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] stated Raridon suffered a non-contact injury to the same knee he had surgery on last year. Freeman confirmed the injury occurred during practice this week and will again require surgery.

Raridon was seeing the field a significant amount as a true freshman, playing 30 snaps against North Carolina and 35 against BYU before seeing less against Stanford as sophomore Mitchell Evans returned to play after undergoing foot surgery in fall camp.

With [autotag]Kevin Bauman[/autotag] already out for the year with an ACL injury, Notre Dame is left with junior [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag], sophomore [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag] as the only scholarship tight ends on the roster.  Cane Berrong is expected to be available again soon after suffering a torn ACL as a freshman last fall.

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Notre Dame Football quick recruiting update

Some interesting info for Irish fans

Although recruiting has slowed down a bit early in the season, that doesn’t mean things are still happening for the Irish. They’re still being active with current commitments, 2022 prospects and looking ahead to the 2023 class as well. Take a look below at some of the recent happenings regarding Notre Dame football recruiting.

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Former Notre Dame tight end commit finds his new home

Enjoy the mitten

Almost a year ago, Georgia tight end Jack Nickel decided he knew where he wanted to attend college, South Bend. Over the next nine months, Notre Dame thought it had once again gone into the Peach State and grabbed another impressive prospect.

Then in April, Nickel reopened his recruitment, decommited from the Irish and looked at other schools. It didn’t take long for Brian Kelly and his staff to identify others at this position, grabbing commitments from Eli Raridon and Holden Staes, effectively closing the door on Nickel’s return to the Irish class.

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The door was officially closed yesterday as Nickel made his second verbal, this time to Michigan State.

Even thought the Irish ultimately missed on Nickel, both Raridon and Staes are ranked higher than the former commit. It seems it all worked out for both parties. Kelly found better replacements at tight end, and Nickel is going to a team that needs an influx of talent.

Notre Dame Extends Offer to Tight End Recruit Eli Raridon

As a former quarterback, Tommy Rees understands the value of a tight end.

As a former quarterback, Tommy Rees understands the value of a tight end. He knows what they can provide, and he knows a good one when he sees it. Such is the case with Eli Raridon, who hails West Des Moines, Iowa, and stars at Valley. At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, he fits the profile of a tight end, and both Rees and John McNulty think he could be of use to Notre Dame in the future:

You can see Brady Quinn in that picture, and Quinn is excited about this offer, too:

Indeed, Raridon committing to the Irish would put him on the same path as his father, Scott Raridon, Jr., who was an offensive lineman for Notre Dame in the early 2000s. To keep this family tradition going, the Irish will have to contend with several other schools, especially Iowa. Among the other schools who have offered Raridon are Florida State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Missouri and Kansas State.