Why Notre Dame TE Mitchell Evans only played 10 snaps at Texas A&M
Notre Dame senior tight end Mitchell Evans only played 10 snaps in Week 1 at Texas A&M, despite his status as a starter on the depth chart and one of the best at his position in the country. Those snaps came exclusively on third-down, obvious passing situations.
On Monday, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said that Evans was fully cleared to play six or seven days before the game. He tore his ACL in October, and while he was medically good to go for Week 1, he couldn’t handle his usual workload.
“We were very intentional about getting him on the field in the right opportunities,” Freeman said. “But without having a full training camp, he just physically wasn’t ready to play 50, 60, 70 plays.”
Evans was a limited participant through most of fall camp, and when reporters saw him in action, he looked like he was moving well. However reporters were at practice during the non-contact portion of camp.
Freeman said Aug. 26 that Evans had taken contact, but he was not cleared for in-game action until a week prior to Notre Dame’s trip to College Station, Texas. The Irish only put him in the game when they would need him the most.
Evans did not register a reception against Texas A&M, nor was he targeted by Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard. In his absence, sophomore tight end Cooper Flanagan caught 2 passes for 25 yards.
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Flanagan started the game and played 48 snaps, while junior tight end Eli Raridon played 24. Raridon had one target, which he did not haul in.
Evans might play 15 snaps on Saturday against Northern Illinois, and the week after, he might play 20. Or he could play 30 against the Huskies and his regular all of them in Week 3. But Evans’ snap count will progress at his own pace, because Notre Dame will need him at full strength to reach its potential.
“Each week, he’ll continue to increase his workload,” Freeman said. “It’s a long season. We’ve got to make sure that we give him the best opportunity to succeed throughout the entirety of the season.”
Evans caught 29 passes for 422 yards and a touchdown last season, bursting onto the scene after the departure of Michael Mayer to the NFL. The Wadsworth, Ohio native is projected to be one of the first two or three tight ends off the board in the 2025 NFL draft, entering his final season of college eligibility.
Notre Dame faces NIU at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in South Bend.
