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Newsstand: Four more Notre Dame football players make national watch lists

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•08/08/24•

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leonard (20)
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard. (Photo by Mike Miller)

The Notre Dame football preseason honors are stacking as high as a tower of all you can eat flapjacks. Four Fighting Irish representatives landed on two different watch lists on Wednesday.

Senior tight end Mitchell Evans and graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell are up for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given each year to the best receiver in college football. Graduate student tight end Kevin Bauman and senior quarterback Riley Leonard are candidates for the Comeback Player of the Year award.

The Irish have only ever had one Biletnikoff Award winner; Golden Tate in 2009. He caught 93 passes for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns. He added 25 carries for 186 yards and 2 scores on the ground for good measure.

Evans led the Irish with 29 receptions in 2023 and finished second on the team with 422 receiving yards despite missing the final five games of the season with an ACL tear. Mitchell, meanwhile, was Florida International’s top target. He caught 64 passes for 1,118 yards and 6 touchdowns last season.

Bauman and Leonard are both coming back from serious injuries. Bauman has only played in three games over the last two seasons because of two ACL tears. Leonard severely sprained his ankle against Notre Dame on Sept. 30, sat out two games, then only played in two more before shutting his season down with multiple other ailments. He’s had two ankle surgeries since getting to South Bend but has been healthy and ready for the season since mid-summer.

Notre Dame kicks off against Texas A&M in primetime on Aug. 31.

Notre Dame tweets of the day

Evans is looking quick, nimble and ready to roll.

Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love is expected to be a big part of the Irish offense.

Two former Fighting Irish women’s basketball players are two wins away from winning gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

Fighting Irish quote of the day

“One of the selling points to him was you’re not a third-down guy; you’re a football player. He’s known as a pass-rusher and I think they used him in that capacity, but he’s playing every down for us. There’s a lot that goes into that and he’s embraced that and made a lot of progress there.”

— Irish defensive line coach Al Washington on defensive end RJ Oben

Blue & Gold headlines of the day

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