IRISH INTEL: Injury updates on three key Notre Dame football players
The Notre Dame offense will return the services of three important players when fall camp commences Wednesday. Here are injury updates on that trio from a trusted source close to the Fighting Irish football program.
Sophomore running back Jadarian Price
Just a few months after dazzling every onlooker with an electrifying 51-yard touchdown catch in Notre Dame’s 2022 Blue-Gold Game, a tilt in which Price totaled 116 yards from scrimmage, he injured his Achilles, setting in motion a long, arduous recovery period that only recently wrapped up. But that’s the good news — it’s over. Finished. Full steam ahead.
Blue & Gold’s source said Price looked “solid” in offseason workouts. How solid? “One-hundred percent” solid. His size is still impressive at 5-10 3/8 and 203 pounds, and it did not seem he was considerably slowed by the major surgery. He looks as athletic as ever, especially in the upper body. Price put in a year’s worth of work in Notre Dame’s “pit” — where injured players work out during practices — and it paid off.
Price was the one of the best sources of optimism for Notre Dame coming out of 2022’s spring practices. The Achilles ailment put a damper on prognostications for his career. This summer brought back the good vibes. Blue & Gold’s source said Price has the tools to be Audric Estimé‘s most trusted complement this fall. There are four tailbacks in the running to be the Irish’s RB2. Some dismiss Price in the battle because of the severity of the injury and a shaky at best history of athletes coming back from it.
Preseason practices will prove that assessment right or wrong. Just don’t be afraid to bet on Price. He’s earned any of the good fortune that could come his way.
Notre Dame scholarship running backs career statistics
PlayerRushing attemptsRushing yardsReceptionsReceiving yardsTotal TDsGraduate student Devyn Ford140666201036Junior Audric Estimé163980913512Sophomore Gi’Bran Payne25–––Sophomore Jadarian Price–––––Freshman Jeremiyah Love–––––
Tight ends Kevin Bauman and Eli Raridon
An injury that is easier than ever to come back from thanks to advancements in modern medicine, meanwhile? ACL tears. Bauman, a senior, and Raridon, a sophomore, are both returning from ones of their own, and their rehab stints took place on similar timelines. Bauman tore his ACL in late September, and Raridon tore his in early October.
The pair is fully healthy and ready to roll.
Blue & Gold’s source said Raridon can be the best tight end on the Notre Dame roster if he stays healthy. Raridon has torn his ACL twice in the last two years. The first injury came while playing high school basketball in December 2021. Like Price, Raridon did not miss a chance to build his body while he couldn’t go through on-field drills. Blue & Gold’s source said Raridon looks “huge.” Being that he was the second-best blocking tight end on Notre Dame’s 2022 roster behind Michael Mayer, that size will come to his advantage this fall.
Bauman is another really good piece in a crowded but inexperienced tight end group. He was the No. 2 tight end behind Mayer on last year’s team before the injury ended his season three games in. He may not have jump off the page, potential TE1 talent like Raridon, but Notre Dame is better off when he’s healthy — especially after sending Mayer off to the Las Vegas Raiders. Notre Dame’s plan at tight end is up in the air entering fall camp. A hierarchy should come into focus as it gets closer to Aug. 26. Being the only senior in the bunch, Bauman has a good shot of at least being TE3.
Notre Dame scholarship tight end career statistics
PlayerReceptionsReceiving yardsTouchdownsSenior Kevin Bauman559–Junior Mitchell Evans5601Junior Davis Sherwood–––Sophomore Holden Staes111–Sophomore Eli Raridon–––Freshman Cooper Flanagan–––
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