Notre Dame TE Mitchell Evans to Miss Significant Time

The fifth metatarsal injury is rearing its ugly head within the Notre Dame football program once again as sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans will miss a significant part of the 2022 season. 

Notre Dame announced on Thursday Evans had surgery to repair a fifth metatarsal injury he suffered during summer training. The surgery was done by Dr. Thomas Bemenderfer and the program expects Evans to return at some point in 2022. 

The Ohio native played in 13 games as a true freshman in 2021 and recorded two receptions for 21 yards and figured to compete for the No. 2 tight end spot this fall. 

When it comes to depth chart impact, Notre Dame continues to have depth in the tight end room, but there isn’t a ton of experience heading into the Ohio State game. 

Junior All-American Michael Mayer leads the unit, while junior Kevin Bauman has appeared in nine games during his first two years.  Bauman had the injury bug himself last year as a fractured leg caused him to miss eight games last fall.

Sophomore Cane Berrong broke into the rotation in tight end heavy packages in 2021 with Bauman out, but then he tore his ACL in practice and missed the second half of the year. The Georgia native is competing in football drills, including 7-on-7, so it certainly looks like Berrong will be good to go for the start of fall camp. 

The Irish also have true freshman Eli Raridon and Holden Staes on the roster following their arrival in June. Raridon is still working to get back into football drills following his ACL injury in December. 

Notre Dame also has three walk-on tight ends in Hakim Sanfro, Charlie Selna and Andrew Yanoshak, who recorded a touchdown in the Blue-Gold Game in April. Sophomore walk-on Davis Sherwood could potentially be used in a blocking role as he moved from linebacker to fullback in the offseason. 

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