Notre Dame Week 3 highlight: Steve Angeli, Notre Dame not done yet at Purdue

Steve Angeli has more TD passes in one half that Riley Leonard does in two and a half games.

Notre Dame backup quarterback Steve Angeli now has as many touchdowns on the season as starter Riley Leonard has interceptions.

OK, ok, we’re not advocating for a QB change, and context matters. Leonard was better in the passing game and used his legs for three touchdowns, and Angeli is playing in garbage time in a blowout against Purdue. We’re just having a little fun with numbers as Angeli and the Fighting Irish continue to pour points on in a bounce-back game after the terrible home loss to Northern Illinois.

This time Angeli capped off a 7-play, 52-yard drive that took 3:43 off the clock with a touchdown toss to tight end Kevin Bauman. The play opened the fourth quarter.

 

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Notre Dame football loses two players for the season to ACL tears

Get well soon!

This was not the news [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] fans wanted to hear a few weeks ahead of the season.

Pete Sampson, of The Athletic, posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, that defensive end [autotag]Aiden Gobaira[/autotag] and tight end [autotag]Kevin Bauman[/autotag] have been lost to the season due to ACL tears.

Gobaira was expected to be in the rotation on the defensive line this year. It’s a blow to the depth at the position. As for Bauman, the senior was going to get a lot more playing time with the departure of Michael Mayer to the NFL.

It’s extremely unfortunate news for both Bauman and Gobaira, but injuries are part of the game and the Irish will move forward.

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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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Twitter reacts to Tyler Buchner’s second touchdown for Notre Dame

The game between Notre Dame and Marshall won’t be the romp many expected it to be.

The game between Notre Dame and Marshall won’t be the romp many expected it to be. All that matters to Irish fans now is that their team escape with a win. The Herd have refused to simply roll over inside Notre Dame Stadium, and it’s an effort no one thought would pay off like it has. The Irish have been playing from behind almost the whole way.

The Irish finally put together another decent offensive drive late in the third quarter. [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] completed a couple of long passes to [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Bauman[/autotag], respectively. At the start of the fourth quarter, Buchner put the Irish back in front:

Buchner then ran for a two-point conversion to put the Irish up, 15-12. Irish fans have been waiting patiently to tweet happiness about their team again, and the opportunity finally came. Here a few of the folks talking about Buchner:

Twitter reacts: Audric Estime scores Notre Dame’s first touchdown

Notre Dame has hung with Ohio State well so far to this point. Early in the second quarter, the Irish had their first touchdown drive of the season. And boy, were there some impressive plays to make it happen. First, you had this amazing catch from …

Notre Dame has hung with Ohio State well so far to this point. Early in the second quarter, the Irish had their first touchdown drive of the season. And boy, were there some impressive plays to make it happen.

First, you had this amazing catch from [autotag]Tyler Salerno[/autotag]:

That was followed by an equally nice catch from [autotag]Kevin Bauman[/autotag]. Ultimately, the Irish found themselves on the Buckeyes’ 1-yard line, and [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] did his best Walter Payton impression to put the Irish back in the lead after they squandered it during the first quarter:

Here’s what people had to say about this play that capped an 87-yard drive:

 

Four-Star ’22 Tight End Commits to Notre Dame

The good news for Notre Dame is that the Fighting Irish didn’t have to wait long for their second commitment in the ’22 class as tight end Jack Nickel made his commitment on Monday afternoon.

It took a while for Notre Dame to land their first commitment in the 2022 recruiting class as four-star offensive tackle Joey Tanona broke the seal on that over the weekend.

The good news for Notre Dame is that the Fighting Irish didn’t have to wait long for their second commitment in the ’22 class as tight end Jack Nickel made his commitment on Monday afternoon.

Nickel is listed at 6-4, 230 pounds and from Alpharetta, Georgia (Milton).  He chose Notre Dame despite having offers from 26 other schools including Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State and LSU.

Nickel is the first tight end to commit to Notre Dame’s 2022 class but joins an incredibly talented group that features four-star Cane Berrong from the ’21 class, five-star Michael Mayer from the ’20 class and four-star Kevin Bauman, also of the ’20 class.

The Fighting Irish certainly haven’t hit on everything out of the gate in regards to the ’22 class but it’s nice to see the commitments finally start to roll in after what had felt like a pretty significant wait.

Watch: Notre Dame Signee Surfs to Celebrate High School Graduation

Aidan Keannaina will begin a nice career with Notre Dame in the fall. At least it should be.

Aidan Keannaina will begin a nice career with Notre Dame in the fall. At least it should be. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle is one the highest ranked recruits in Colorado. In January, he played in the Polynesian Bowl with fellow Irish commits Tosh Baker, Kevin Bauman, Michael Carmody and Chris Tyree.

Before hitting the gridiron in South Bend, however, Keanaaina had to graduate from high school. Like every other student taking the next step in life this year, he needed to mark the occasion in his own fashion. Though Colorado is known for its mountains, Keannaina has Hawaiian blood, so there only was one way he could celebrate. That was by wakeboarding in full cap and gown and taking his graduation garb off while doing it.

If anyone had doubts about Keanaaina’s athleticism, this should dispel it all. The kid is quite coordinated, and that will make life easier for Mike Elston and the defensive line he coaches. It’s doubtful the Irish will be staging a team surfing competition anytime soon, but they’ve got a clear favorite if it happens after all.

Notre Dame Football: Kevin Bauman Signs with Irish

Kevin Bauman, four-star tight end out of Red Bank, New Jersey was the second player to send his in Wednesday morning.

Some things we’ve known for weeks, months and in some cases years are becoming official today as the early signing period has officially opened.

Notre Dame is hot out of the gate this morning as the class of 2020 sends in their National Letters of Intent.

Kevin Bauman, four-star tight end out of Red Bank, New Jersey was the second player to send his in Wednesday morning.

Bauman is listed at 6’5” and 235 pounds and chose Notre Dame over the likes of Boston College, Michigan, Nebraska and North Carolina, originally commiting all the way back in June of 2018.

Bauman is listed as the fifth best tight end in the nation by Rivals and the second best player in the state of New Jersey.