Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U’

Listed measurements: 6-foot-5 ⅛, 260 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A junior, Evans has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Depth Chart: Evans will be Notre Dame’s starting tight end when the Irish head to Dublin, a weighty honor as every tight end to open a season as the Irish starter has been drafted since Anthony Fasano started in 2004. If Evans maintains that streak, he will be the 12th straight starting Notre Dame tight end to hear his name in the NFL draft. Recruiting: The No. 26 tight end in the class of 2021, Evans turned down offers from Iowa State, Michigan State and Pittsburgh to join Cane Berrong in the Notre Dame class of 2021. That sentence elicits two thoughts: First of all, neither Berrong nor Evans was exceedingly well-regarded as a recruit — Berrong the No. 35 tight end in the class, per rivals.com — but Berrong had a bit more hype given he was an Under Armour All-American. Regardless, the Irish chasing them should have elevated their respective statuses a bit more, simply given Notre Dame’s track record with tight ends under Brian Kelly. After injuries derailed his time in South Bend, Berrong transferred to Coastal Carolina this winter, and he could be a ripe benefactor of Chanticleers quarterback Grayson McCall returning for one more season.

Secondly, that recruiting class could never take an official visit to any campus during their recruitment, making it harder for the prospects to gauge their personal fits as well as harder for coaches to thoroughly evaluate them. Evans looking more and more like a clear success story is that much more impressive from a recruiting perspective.

CAREER TO DATE A toe injury in July of 2022 sidelined Evans to start last season, finding health just as