Marcus Freeman explains how Notre Dame can offset loss of Mitchell Evans

Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans was injured against Pitt on Saturday. At the time it was concerning and now, it’s clear that Evans is done for the season with a torn ACL. With that, head coach Marcus Freeman needs to find a way to replace his production.

Freeman explained that it won’t just be Eli Raridon who is asked to step up and replace Mitchell Evans. Instead, everyone is going to need to step up to replace his production.

“He’ll be asked to do more, along with Holden Staes and Cooper Flanagan and those guys,” Marcus Freeman said. “You don’t make up for the production that Mitch gave our offense with one guy. I think every person in that tight ends room will be asked to do more, and I’m confident they’ll be able to.”

Replacing Michael Mayer, now in the NFL, at tight end this year for Notre Dame, Mitchell Evans has been an incredible weapon for the Irish on offense. He has 29 catches for 422 yards and a touchdown on the season, all of which are career highs.

Holden Staes will likely be the top tight end to replace Evans. However, there is hope that Raridon can fill gaps as he returns from an ACL injury of his own. On top of that, a garbage time touchdown for Flanagan against Pitt is hopefully a sign of good things to come for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

Ultimately, the blend of experience, size, and production that Evans brought Notre Dame is almost impossible to replace. However, Freeman will need to find a way to do that quickly going into a tough game against Clemson.

Marcus Freeman breaks down the differences he’s seen in Notre Dame’s offense

In Notre Dame’s first four games, the Irish dominated on the offensive side of the ball. Since then, however, the team has struggled on offense, leading Freeman to explain what he sees as the differences on that side of the football.

“It’s the execution. We got to be better on third down but part of being better on third down is being more efficient on first and second down. There’s not just a one common theme in the last three or four games that we say this is the reason. Each game has its own different story that we have to continue to attack. Five turnovers one game. That’s a different story than last week,” Freeman said.

“We have to continue to build confidence and take shots. Especially playing the defense we’ll play this week, you’re going to have to take some shots and some play action shots. We’re continuously looking at the things we do. But the biggest thing is the execution. The challenge will continuously be we have to simplify so the execution is at the standard we need it to be. It’s not more, more, more. It’s clear, clear, clear.”