Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 35 "It's not gonna hit me until I actually walk in the stadium that day, and I see them together," Kevin Bauman Sr. said. "I'm gonna be like, 'OK, this is real.'" TOUGH DECISIONS Alex and Kevin Bauman's first college touchdowns came under very different circumstances. On Jan. 2, 2023, Tulane trailed South- ern Cal 45-39 in the Cotton Bowl. The Green Wave faced second-and-goal from the 6-yard line with 12 seconds left. Lined up as the inside man in a three-by-one set, Alex Bauman, a true freshman at the time, gained inside po- sition on his defender. The throw came in, and Bauman and his defender fought for it. Officials ruled it incomplete at first, but Bauman insisted he caught it. Replay showed that he was correct; the ball never hit the ground. Tulane pulled off the stun- ning upset. "He might be my younger brother, but he's someone who I look up to," Kevin Bauman said. "Coming out of high school, he was kind of looked over a little bit. Got his opportunity at [Tu- lane], and he ran with it, took off with it." Nearly two years later, on Sept. 14, 2024, Notre Dame led Purdue 52-7 in the early fourth quarter. Kevin Bauman, getting his shot in a blowout, found a soft spot in the Boilermakers' zone de- fense and caught a sidearm throw from then-Irish quarterback Steve Angeli for an 8-yard score. B a u m a n 's tea m m a te s ce l e b ra te d more than they normally would for ex- tending a lead from 45 to 52. They knew what that moment meant for him. Alex Bauman now has 13 touchdowns in his career, including 7 in 2024. Af- ter his junior season, calls from Power Four schools started rolling in. It wasn't easy, but he made the decision to trans- fer to Miami. "He had a good career at Tulane," Bauman Sr. said. "He got comfort- able. You're finally settled in and your friends are there, and now you're like, 'OK, I'm leaving.' Nowadays, it seems like kids at the drop of a dime just pack up and go. "It was a tough decision, but if all these teams are asking for you, and he had a bunch of offers from a bunch of teams, so it's time to move on and prove yourself at the Power Four level." For Kevin, it's just the one. The class of 2020 Irish recruit spent most of his time in college rehabbing from injuries: a broken leg in 2021, a torn ACL in 2022 and a second torn ACL in 2023. "They've leaned on each other a lot over the years," Bauman Sr. said. "Espe- cially with Kev, with the injuries. He had to make some big decisions on whether he was going to hang it up or come back, and he decided he still wanted to play." That decision wasn't easy either. The second ACL was particularly difficult, but he relied on faith, support from his family and team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Ratigan to get him through. "[Ratigan] was like, 'If you still want to play and that's your dream, go for it. Don't worry, we'll fix your knee,'" Bau- man Sr. said. "They did, but that's only part of it. The rehab and everything else you have to do is the tough part of it. … You have to find that deep space in your heart to make it work." He did, and for the first time in four years, Bauman stayed healthy. He played in 14 games, including all four College Football Playoff matchups, as a backup and special teamer. But Bauman walked off the field af- ter the national championship game against Ohio State, he thought he had put on a gold helmet for the final time. He was preparing to decide whether to hang up his cleats or enter the transfer portal himself. "At that point I thought they were going to kick me out the door, to be hon- est," Bauman said. What changed? Fellow tight end Cooper Flanagan tore his Achilles in the Sugar Bowl, putting his availability for the first half of the 2025 season in doubt. Bauman hated to see his team- mate go down, but after Flanagan's in- jury, the Irish needed him. When that became clear, there was no decision. "At the end of the day, if I still have it and I have the opportunity to do it, there's no place I'd rather do it than Notre Dame," Bauman said. "I love this place to death." A HEALTHY REEMERGENCE Miami's tight end depth chart is all but set in stone. Alex Bauman will be the in-line complement to sophomore Elija Lofton, an athletic "move" tight end. Expect the Hurricanes to be a 12 personnel-heavy team, particularly in the red zone. Notre Dame's is more murky, behind locked-in starter Eli Raridon. But by all accounts, Kevin Bauman has a great chance to play a larger role in the of- fense than he did in 2024. "Kevin is an incredible asset to this football team," Irish offensive coordi- nator/tight ends coach Mike Denbrock said. "I don't think anybody ever got him mixed up with a 4.5 [40-yard dash] guy, but his movement skills have im- proved as his health has improved. "I'm happy for him, that he's able to get rewarded for a lot of hard work he's put in to put himself in a position to be a factor on this football team." Bauman was healthy last year, but when injuries ravage your knee that much, it takes time to regain confidence in it. The mental side is still a battle, Bauman explained, but he feels better physically than he did even before he got hurt. "I'm moving better than I ever have," Bauman said. "Feeling more physical than I ever have. Faster, stronger. As much as it hurts, I feel like I needed that time to get to this point." The turning point, Bauman recalls, was spring ball. That was the first time he took the field and thought, "I'm back." He also took more reps in spring practice than ever, because he, Rari- don and sophomore Jack Larsen were Notre Dame's only healthy tight ends in April. Flanagan was out, while Arkansas transfer Ty Washington and true fresh- man James Flanigan had yet to enroll. "I needed every single rep," Bau- man said. "That's something we talked about with Coach Denbrock and [as- sistant tight ends coach Harris Bivin], just, 'Hey, I want these reps. Give me these reps. I need them.' Get my feet under me, get my body feeling right. It was something I took full advantage of." On July 31, the first day of fall camp, Bauman gained a step on junior safety Luke Talich and caught a pass over the middle with room to run. For the first time since his second ACL tear, he looked like a legitimate contributor. Back, indeed. ✦