Eli Raridon Commit Adds to Family, Notre Dame TEU Traditions

Notre Dame picked up another commitment for the class of 2022 over the weekend when Eli Raridon, a 3-star tight end with plenty of connections to the University, selected the Irish on the heels of a self guided tour.

Notre Dame is a family tradition for the Raridons. Eli’s father, Scott Jr, was a 4-star recruit and offensive lineman for the Irish from 2003-2006. His grandfather, Scott Sr, was a strength and conditioning coach at Notre Dame for the 1988 National Champion Fighting Irish under Lou Holtz. Ever since the initial offer was made, this commitment just felt like a formality.

In addition to the Notre Dame offer, Raridon held offers from Iowa, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida State, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Virginia among others.

Raridon becomes the first tight in the class of 2022 since Jack Nickel of Georgia decommitted a few weeks back. Notre Dame’s pursuit of Raridon in February suggested that the Irish might have been preparing for that potential decommit since the plan was always to take just two tight ends, and the Irish also continue to heavily recruit Holden Stats, a 4-star tight end out of Georgia.

Despite the 3-star rating, Notre Dame is getting an athletically gift, albeit raw, product out of Iowa. Raridon has a really high ceiling as a prospect although at the same time, his floor is also probably lower than Nickel’s. That said, with some added weight and work on his fundamentals, Raridon has all of the tools to continue Notre Dame’s Tight End U tradition.

Right now, Raridon gets by with his size and effort playing against competition in Iowa that isn’t necessarily the strongest. He has, however, a few elements to his game that you can’t coach – hustle and athletic ability. Once he gets to Notre Dame, Matt Balis can help him pack on some weight to his lanky frame and John McNulty can work with the raw tools he’ll bring with him.

Some fans will inevitably moan and groan over the 3-star rating, but his offer list – which was still continuing to improve prior to his commitment – suggests he is easily on the higher end of the 3-star spectrum versus the lower end. While Raridon is a legacy, he’s a player that Notre Dame almost certainly would have offered even without the Notre Dame connections because of the ceiling he possesses.

With Raridon locked up, Notre Dame turns it attention to Holden Staes to close out tight end recruiting for the class of 2022. As of right now, the Irish are considered the favorite, but they still have work to do to secure a commitment