Fully Healthy and Confident, Eli Raridon Poised for Breakout Season in 2025

Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon is experiencing a first in his collegiate career this spring. 

The 6-foot-7, 251-pounder is healthy. 

Raridon battled two ACL injuries in his first two years on campus and then had a nagging quad injury a year ago. 

"Man, this is the first spring practice I've come into fully healthy, to be honest,” said Raridon. “Last year, I was out with a quad deal. Before that was my knee and stuff. It feels great to be healthy again. I'm really grateful." 

What’s the difference in Raridon’s game now that he’s healthy? Well, the Iowa native believes he’s shown improvement in multiple areas. 

"I would say playing with a lot of confidence, playing with speed, and I haven't really had that in a while,” Raridon stated. “Right now, I'm probably playing better than ever." 

There is also confidence mentally. Raridon isn’t using this spring to learn another offense and instead, he’s mastering Mike Denbrock’s offense, which is a pleasant change than the first two years he was on campus. 

"Going on three offenses in a row, it's a big learning curve and Denbrock's was definitely the hardest to learn,” explained Raridon. “I would say midway through the year, it clicked in my brain. I was really familiar with the offense and I was starting to get confident from being healthy and preventing injuries. I would say I made a big stride mentally. I earned a lot of trust throughout those weeks and built that up." 

It’s never easy to learn three new offenses, but often there is carryover in principles that makes life easier for players. 

Denbrock’s offense separates itself from others due to the amount of pre-snap eye candy and motions, which was Raridon's learning curve. 

"I would say a lot more motioning,” Raridon said of where Denbrock’s offense differed from Notre Dame’s previous offensive coordinators. “There's just a lot more going on before the play and just certain rules within the plays that were different than the other offensive coordinators. It works, but it's harder to learn. I've gotten really comfortable and I feel very confident right now." 

It’s a lot to ask of players, especially the tight ends, as they hold significant roles in the pass and run game. 

"100 percent harder in the blocking game,” said Raridon. “You have to think about what if this happens or if that happens, then you have to do this. I would say it's harder in the blocking game. As I've gone along with this offense, I've been playing a lot faster with getting used to it.

“There is a lot you guys don't see. The blocking game is definitely a lot to process, but I've gotten really comfortable with it." 

Raridon will look to be a much more aggressive playmaker in 2025 as he’s coming off 11 receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns last fall. 

Part of that aggression will be the mindset he developed halfway through last year, when he decided to move past playing passive at times. 

"I felt confident throughout the year,” said Raridon. “There was a certain point right before the Stanford game where I said screw it, let's do it. I just have to go all in. After that game, there was a big difference in how I played."  

Raridon isn’t the only one who has increased expectations for this season. Denbrock has seen development and also believes Raridon could be in for a special season. 

“Eli’s got a chance to become one of the really good ones here,” said Denbrock. “Incredible size, good movement skills, toughness. I really like where he’s heading as a player. It’s been nice, because him now getting through the season mostly healthy last year kinda helped him build confidence that, ‘Hey, I’m OK to do this again.’ And do it at a high level. He’s just gonna continue to climb.”

Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Under Armour Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Coaches Rival Raglan Pullover Sweatshirt