Marcus Freeman Unveils Notre Dame's Strategy for All-American Tight End Usage

Mitchell Evans was a preseason All-American by many outlets but is still getting back up to speed following a 2023 knee injury

Nick Shepkowski | Sep 3, 2024

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) celebrates a catch for a first down in the fourth quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Notre Dame Stadium. / matt cashore-usa today sports

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame went into Texas A&M on Saturday night and walked out with its biggest road win in over a decade.

It's well documented that Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish played with a shorthanded and inexperienced offensive line, but it was largely without Mitchell Evans at tight end, too.

Evans played just 10 snaps in Notre Dame's win Saturday, leading to wonder about his health seeing as he missed the final month of last season after suffering an ACL injury. Marcus Freeman revealed Monday that this has been what Evans has been trending towards during his recovery.

Marcus Freeman on Notre Dame Tight End Mitchell Evans

“He just got cleared probably six or seven days before we played, so we were very intentional about getting him on the field and in the right opportunities. But without having a full training camp, he just physically wasn't ready to play 50, 60, 70 plays each week. He'll continue to increase his workload. It's a long season, and so we’ve got to make sure that we give him the best opportunity to succeed throughout the entirety of the season.”

Mitchell Evans didn't have a catch in the regular season.

He's got three today, and his biggest one just put the Irish back in front. #GoIrish ☘️

(via @NDFootball, ESPN)pic.twitter.com/VjK5vCn5QJ
— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) December 31, 2022

Notre Dame's Favorable Schedule for Mitchell Evans

Notre Dame's favorable schedule has been discussed in terms of chances of wins and losses but it's equally as beneficial for the development of this team. After getting the win at Texas A&M, Evans now has Northern Illinois, Purdue, and Miami University to grow his snap count against before a big game against Louisville to close September.

The same goes for Notre Dame's young offensive line that did a lot of growing up Saturday night at Texas A&M, but can certainly use some seasoning over the next three weeks.