Notre Dame’s recruiting roll continued today when 2021 TE Mitch Evans announced for the Irish. There was some recent buzz that the 6’6”, 240-pound Ohioan might stretch his recruitment out, but that buzz was apparently off base. As did a few other recent commits, Evans took a quasi-independent visit to campus recently; he came on his own dime and had no contact with team or university officials, as required, but Blake Fisher met him and showed him around. It’s a creative way to deal with the current situation.
Some have questioned the addition of Evans in a class that’s destined to be smaller and that already has Cane Berrong. Berrong and Evans are very different profiles, though; Berrong is more of a receiving TE while Evans profiles as a classic inline TE. Also, reportedly the staff believes Evans could Take the Andy Heck path and grow into an athletic OT.
To the University of Notre Dame 🍀@NDFootball @WHSgrizzliesFB #GoIrish #GoGrizzlies pic.twitter.com/ZBfkEN4w3y
— Mitchell (@mitch14football) July 31, 2020
Recruiting Service Rankings
247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8789), #435 overall, #20 TE, #14 in OH
247Sports — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #19 TE, #18 in OH
Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #28 TE, #25 in OH
ESPN — 3 star (78 rating), NR overall, #13 TE, #16 in OH
Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (92 rating)
Cohort
In addition to Notre Dame, Evans holds offers from Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Michigan State, Pitt, Virginia, and West Virginia, among others.
Highlights
I gotta say, as much as people may think it’s a foregone conclusion that Evans will move to OL, I don’t think it is. What jumps out more than anything else for me is his athleticism, which looks exceptional for someone his size – perhaps less surprising when you consider that he plays quarterback and also stars on the hardwood. He has nice soft hands, knows how to find holes in coverage, and is a credible threat to gain yards after the catch. His blocking is pretty sloppy, but the enthusiasm is there and that’s the most important thing at this stage. Not only will that improve as he continues to receive coaching, it’ll also improve as he focuses in on one position.
Impact
Evans won’t be needed right away. Assuming Michael Mayer locks down the TE1 position as expected in 2021, the battle for TE2 between Evans, classmate Cane Berrong, and 2020 signee Kevin Baumann should be very interesting. Baumann should have a leg up being in the program longer, but who knows how that all will shake out. I do think Evans has a ceiling as a front-line TE, and whether he moves to OL will rather be determined by whether he can avoid gaining too much weight.
Welcome to the Irish family, Mitchell!
ESPN has him rated as a RB ?… Unlike lots of kids his size he looks already to be comfortable in his enormous frame. He could be a big plus in the red zone. He can also punt.
Ha – no, I copied the Diggs post to get the template and didn’t change that one. Thanks for pointing it out, fixed.
I agree on both points, he can be a big problem in short areas and the athleticism (or comfort!) is impressive. That wildcat run at QB…
Tommy Rees memorial “not a punter who still punts” legacy lives on, you say?
For 2021, why did you exclude Tremble on the depth chart? He now has 3 more yrs of eligibility. He seems like a likely starter from ‘20-22.
And it seems too early to write off Takacs. Older more experienced guys tend to beat out the Fr and sophs at that position.
Apparently there is a growing feeling around ND that Tremble will head into the draft early, possibly as early as next year if he has the 2020 most expect him to. He will likely test extremely well at the combine.