Tag: Holden Staes

Notre Dame statistical leaders through seven games

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the …

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the Irish must carry on because the schedule dictates such.

Here’s who leads the major statistical categories for the Irish:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through six games

Who’s most likely to help defeat the Cardinals?

Notre Dame is getting ready to face another surging program, this time in Louisville. It probably would prefer to have an easier time than it did against Duke, which it barely escaped against. The road atmosphere the Cardinals fans will provide unlikely will be anymore forgiving though. That’s why the Irish must prepare for any and all possibilities.

Here are the statistical leaders for the Irish at the midway point of the season:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through five games

Who can get the Irish back on track after their heartbreaking loss?

Notre Dame doesn’t have time to think about what could have been against Ohio State. Its focus now must shift to a resurgent Duke team. Wins continue to be necessary because you never know what can happen over the next two months. The College Football Playoff might still remain in play.

Here are the Irish’s statistical leaders to watch for against the Blue Devils:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through four games

Here are the players most equipped to take down the Buckeyes.

Notre Dame got through its four games unscathed, and now it’s time for the really big test. Ohio State is coming to South Bend, and this could more or less decide the Irish’s fate for 2023.

It will be tough, but they’ve shown they have the personnel to meet the challenge.

Here are the statistical leaders to watch out for in the upcoming contest:

Social media reacts to Holden Staes’ fourth-quarter touchdown

Exclamation point.

Even with the outcome most likely decided, Notre Dame continued to press against Central Michigan. [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] had hit a lot of receivers over the course of the game, but one he hadn’t was tight end [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag]. That changed in the fourth quarter. Hartman hit Staes for a 4-yard touchdown, his first reception of the game, and any remaining doubts that the Irish would win were gone:

Not only did the touchdown extend the Irish’s lead further, but it set a program record. Dating to last season’s Gator Bowl, the Irish now have scored at least 40 points in five straight games. That’s the first such streak in 136 years of Notre Dame football. Everyone who has made this possible should feel very proud.

We will have more about the Irish’s 41-17 victory in other posts, but for our purposes here, let’s purely focus on social media reactions to Staes’ late touchdown:

Another Notre Dame football starter out against Central Michigan

The Irish are down another starter on Saturday

We knew earlier in the week that [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] would be without linebacker [autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag].

What we didn’t know was [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] would join the Irish captain on the unavailable list against Central Michigan. Luckily for Notre Dame, [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag] had a mini-breakout against NC State.

What’s interesting is when this week’s depth chart was release, Evans was tight end  No. 1, but the Irish now look to Staes along with [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag], who also scored a touchdown last week, to replace him.

As for Bertrand, [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] is listed behind him, and it would be the first start for the true freshman.

The Irish will kick off the game against the Chippewas at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through three games

Here’s who to watch against Central Michigan.

Notre Dame not only got through its first real test of 2023, but it stepped on the gas against NC State to show how talented it is.

Up next is Central Michigan, which should provide a bit of a breather. More importantly, it will serve as a tuneup for when Ohio State comes to South Bend the following week.

Here are the statistical leaders to watch out for in the upcoming contest:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame’s Holden Staes’ touchdown

Nice score by the tight end.

Notre Dame definitely has had a tougher time with NC State than it did against Navy or Tennessee State. Much of that has been self-inflicted with an uncharacteristic amount of penalties that have aid the Wolfpack’s scoring. But [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has shown capable of fending off whatever adversity that comes the Irish’s win. Fresh off a Wolfpack field goal, Hartman completed a pass to [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag], who was off to the races with a 40-yard touchdown:

This is the second touchdown for Staes in as many games and the second of his career. The fact that he’s starting to show what he can do after barely getting that opportunity a year ago shows how many players are benefiting from Hartman’s presence. It was hyped up a lot before the season, but now, we’re getting to see it for ourselves. That includes folks on social media as evidenced by these tweets:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes’ touchdown

Tight End U has returned.

As good as [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has been for Notre Dame thus far, his tight ends haven’t gotten involved. They technically haven’t been needed because the offense has been that good, but you’d still like to see them contribute something. It finally happened just before halftime against Tennessee State.

Fresh off the Tigers’ second unsuccessful field-goal attempt of the first half and with 53 seconds left, Hartman chose to exclusively air it out, mostly to his tight ends, to try and extend a big Irish lead. Six plays and 38 seconds later, he did just that, finding [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag] for a 4-yard touchdown:

The touchdown was the first of Staes’ collegiate career and his second reception. There’s no telling how much Staes will factor into the rest of the season, but it’s at the very least of reflection of how many backs and receivers Hartman is getting involved. Yes, that includes tight ends.

Here’s what social media said about the score that put the Irish up, 35-3, at the break:

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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