SOUTH BEND, Ind. \u2014 Three months from now, Eli Raridon will extend one of college football\u2019s longest NFL Draft streaks.<\/p>\n
Since 2004, every player who has served as the primary tight end in the Notre Dame offense has been drafted, a streak so long that it includes all three of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock\u2019s stints with the program. The 2026 draft opens on April 23 in Pittsburgh, and Raridon will eventually hear his name called. It\u2019s just a matter of when.<\/p>\n
Until then, Raridon will continue training in Florida, participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl this week, work out at the NFL combine and return to Notre Dame for Pro Day in March. After graduating in December with a degree in strategic management, Raridon can fully focus on football.<\/p>\n
Raridon has compared notes on preparing for the combine with former Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans and hopes to run the 40-yard dash in the high 4.5 range in Indianapolis. Just five tight ends have hit that number in the past three combines; all five were drafted.<\/p>\n
The Athletic caught up with Raridon to look back at his Notre Dame career, discuss how it ended and look ahead to next year\u2019s Irish squad. (Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019re a couple of months removed from Notre Dame, what will stick with you the most about your four years here?<\/p>\n
I would definitely say the people at Notre Dame is something so special. You talk to guys at different programs where the team isn\u2019t very close, but at Notre Dame, I was so fortunate to have such awesome teammates around. There\u2019s no cancers to the locker room. Everyone\u2019s just amazing people there and so supportive. Then the coaches on top of that really know their football.<\/p>\n
I went through a great high school football program in Iowa but really didn\u2019t know how to play tight end at the next level. I didn\u2019t really have any knowledge about coverages or certain plays, certain techniques. I learned so much through the coaches. They just made that place so awesome to be in, so going to the facility, it was just a bright part of my day and it\u2019s because of the people that are there.<\/p>\n
Part of coming through Notre Dame, it\u2019s such a difficult experience. You\u2019re doing school all on your own, you\u2019ve got no help, super rigorous. I was in the business school, it was pretty difficult and on top of football and all that demands, basically a full-time job on top of school. Going through a lot of difficult and uncomfortable times. It gets easier, but I made a lot of growth in my time, and I\u2019m super grateful for that.<\/p>\n
As far as this season, could you have fathomed you were playing your last game at Notre Dame (during the season finale at Stanford, before the Irish were left out of the College Football Playoff)?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a weird thing to think about. After we beat Stanford I think all of us thought we were going to be in the playoffs, and I had no thought in my mind that that could have been my last game, and you know, it\u2019s just a big shock for sure.<\/p>\n
Were you nervous at all on selection Sunday or just felt you were in for sure?<\/p>\n
We were sitting at lunch talking before the show, and the Vegas odds had us -2500 or -3000 to make it, so that made us a lot less nervous. But obviously when you know you\u2019re gonna be one of the last teams in, there\u2019s gonna be at least some nerves. I was a little nervous, but I was very confident in the back of my mind that we were going to make it.<\/p>\n
I remember watching the show, and when Alabama popped up at No. 9, that was the \u201cOh s\u2014\u201d moment for Notre Dame. Is that how it felt in the room?<\/p>\n
For sure. When I saw Alabama at No. 9, I started looking around the room and saw everyone getting a little bit uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
The concept of not playing in a bowl at all, how did you guys view that as players?<\/p>\n
It was definitely a difficult decision, and I think a lot of that process had to do with the captains and the coaches. The players had a little bit to do with it for sure, too. But they kind of sparked that conversation first. In the back of my mind, it was such a shock and I had to kind of make the decision on if there is a bowl game, am I going to play in it? So I was calling (offensive lineman and team captain Aamil Wagner) on what they were talking about.<\/p>\n
A lot of the reasoning came from, we\u2019re not gonna come in with the same team for that bowl game. We\u2019re not going to be an accurate representation of Notre Dame. A lot of it was to do with the committee kind of screwing us, ESPN screwing us, so why would we give them the satisfaction of us participating? I think those are two big things. It was a well-thought-out thing.<\/p>\n
I totally supported their decision. But you kind of feel for maybe some of the younger guys that could have gotten some good experience in that bowl who are going to play next year. But there\u2019s risks, too. What if (quarterback) CJ Carr gets hurt? There was no choice that was going to make everyone happy. But I thought we did the right thing.<\/p>\n
One sentiment that I\u2019ve picked up talking to players is that not everyone had the same opinion, but there wasn\u2019t anyone pounding the table to play the bowl, nor was anybody pounding the table to opt out, either.<\/p>\n
Yeah, 100 percent, that\u2019s right. There was nobody, \u201cWe need to play in the bowl game!\u201d or \u201cWe can\u2019t play this bowl game!\u201d It was kind of like, as a team, we\u2019re gonna make a decision, and we\u2019re going to be OK with it, whatever it is.<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019re removed from the season, what are your enduring memories from last fall?<\/p>\n
Obviously the beginning was a little rough with going 0-2, but it\u2019s just so fun being a part of that team, especially just with me growing up and just dreaming of playing there. It was seriously like a dream come true. And I had so much fun every game I went out there. A lot of that was to do with my teammates. Our tight end group was really, really close, and that made it a really fun part just being with them every day, being with them in the game, being at practice. It was really fun just going on that 10-game win streak and seeing my teammates make plays, making plays for Notre Dame. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.<\/p>\n
From inside the program, how did Marcus Freeman deal with that 0-2 start? What did you learn about him?<\/p>\n
He\u2019s wise beyond his years. He handled those losses extremely well. Wasn\u2019t blaming the losses on the players, wasn\u2019t pouting about it. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna learn from this. This is gonna be good for us in the long run. We\u2019re gonna work even harder and bounce back.\u201d It was the completely right mentality of approaching a loss. I think he really learned how to lead through success and through losses. He\u2019s an amazing head coach, and I think Notre Dame needs to keep him for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve been here for the whole Freeman experience. How does he keep it fresh? Does it get to a point where you\u2019re, \u201cI\u2019ve heard this before,\u201d or, \u201cI know what he\u2019s gonna say today.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just his body language and he\u2019s not saying the same things. I think he does a good job of mixing up the message that we need. But he\u2019s an amazing public speaker, and I don\u2019t know how he does it, but when you\u2019re out there and he\u2019s talking, he is very easy to listen to and he engages your attention. He does a really good job of preparing what he\u2019s gonna be talking about and not repeating himself. It\u2019s never like 30 minutes where, \u201cOh, we have to listen to this forever.\u201d There\u2019s always a message. Sometimes he goes a little long or can go on tangents, but for the most part he keeps your attention.<\/p>\n
So do you have a favorite tangent?<\/p>\n
There were some great ones during our championship run a year ago. He\u2019d always bring up farming because he knew Jack Kiser grew up on a farm. Those were really funny. There\u2019s so many analogies. It\u2019s funny when he\u2019s talking about farming because you can tell he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about, either. The analogy might make a little bit of sense, but he\u2019s got no knowledge of what he\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n
What was the hardest part of being at Notre Dame?<\/p>\n
It was definitely my freshman year when I had torn my ACL. I\u2019d just got to Notre Dame, was starting to learn how to play football and was starting to get some games under my belt. And then all of a sudden you get hurt and it gets taken away from you. I knew I was going to be out for a long time and just the pain of surgery and the mental part where you\u2019ve got to keep focused, but you know you\u2019re not going to be playing for another 10 months. So it\u2019s hard to get in the right mental space. Honestly, before I got hurt, I didn\u2019t realize how blessed and lucky I was to be playing football. I liked it, but going through those injuries kind of made me love the game because I know that it\u2019s never guaranteed. It made me so much more appreciative, and it made me soak in every experience and not take it for granted.<\/p>\n
Honestly that year was of the best things that\u2019s happened to me, looking back at it. I know that\u2019s crazy to say, but it shaped me into the man I am today.<\/p>\n
When you look at next year\u2019s team, who are the captains?<\/p>\n
Obviously CJ Carr. He definitely should have been a captain this year. His leadership is completely next-level. It was an awkward position last August because we voted on captains before we knew who our starting quarterback was. It was very up in the air. I don\u2019t think anyone was too confident in voting for Kenny Minchey or CJ Carr. But CJ Carr is the No. 1 leader on the team, no doubt about it.<\/p>\n
In the locker room, he makes an effort to build a relationship with every single player, and it\u2019s really genuine. He\u2019s such a good dude, really easy to talk to. I think it\u2019s more than Riley Leonard. Riley was more shy than CJ was. CJ has so much confidence on and off the field. In the huddle, he\u2019s screaming at us, getting us hyped up to play, tapping us all on the helmets. In the game, calling out what the defense is, getting in the right checks. He\u2019s so well-prepared, has great relationships, so confident. It all just makes him a great leader.<\/p>\n
Obviously Drayk Bowen and Adon Shuler, returning captains. As far as an offensive lineman, maybe Anthonie Knapp? Actually, Ashton Craig might be one. He\u2019s a quieter guy. Anthonie is more outspoken. I could see one of them being captain. Then Leonard Moore, just because of the player he is and I think he\u2019s a good leader on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n
You mentioned the Carr\/Minchey dynamic and maybe you can answer this better now being removed from it \u2026 but what was the deal with that training camp competition?<\/p>\n
It was 100 percent neck and neck. I had no clue who the quarterback was gonna be. I don\u2019t think anyone had a clue. I felt bad for the coaches who had to make a decision because there were days when Kenny had a better day and days where CJ had a better day. It was so 50-50.<\/p>\n
Kenny\u2019s mobility helped him create a lot of explosive plays. His accuracy was really good, too. He was just making the right decisions. I don\u2019t know if it surprised me a lot, but him making those plays made it close. Then in the spring, it was split with Kenny, CJ and Steve Angeli. I know Kenny had a really good spring, but with three quarterbacks, you can\u2019t process which one\u2019s throwing to you. I didn\u2019t know what to expect from Kenny in fall camp, but he did a really good job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTH BEND, Ind. \u2014 Three months from now, Eli Raridon will extend one of college football\u2019s longest NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":706378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,4732],"class_list":{"0":"post-706377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115961592789404895","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}