Notre Dame football: Eli Raridon will learn from the best in Year 1

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 20: Michael Mayer #87 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs for a touchdown during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on November 20, 2021 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 20: Michael Mayer #87 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs for a touchdown during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on November 20, 2021 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame football program inked a tremendous 2022 recruiting class during the Early Signing Period, including tight end Eli Raridon.

With Early Signing Day happening this past Wednesday, we got to see the newest members of the Notre Dame football program sign their National Letter of Intent. The Irish were able to get signatures from 21 recruits, including Eli Raridon, who some feel could be the best overall prospect of the bunch.

While it is way too early to consider that, especially with how much talent the Irish brought in, you have to like the situation Raridon is going into. The Notre Dame football team has arguably the best tight end in the country in Michael Mayer, who is fresh off his second dominant season in South Bend.

Notre Dame football becoming ‘Tight End U’

We have all heard the moniker that Notre Dame football is considered “Offensive Line U,” as it seems to produce multiple NFL offensive linemen every season. However, another position group where they have been elite for some time is the tight end spot, where they currently have one of the best in the country in Mayer.

Shockingly, Mayer was not a finalist for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s best tight end, but I will not get into that here. This guy has been instant offense since bursting onto the scene as a true freshman last season and has developed into a potential first-round pick.

For Raridon, he could not have picked a better school with an elite talent ahead of him on the depth chart, as he is going to learn so much from Mayer. Mayer is a guy who stepped foot on campus and became a star, dealing with the pressures of that as an 18-year old kid, and Raridon will have a front-row seat to see how to conduct himself in that role next season.

This is an exciting class of talent the Irish brought in, as there are elite players on both sides of the ball, bringing incredible depth for the 2022 roster. This is just the start for head coach Marcus Freeman in terms of his recruiting, but as you can see by the list of players coming in, this is going to be a special group.