BY TYLER JAMES
S
cott Raridon Jr. knew about the
peaks and valleys of college foot-
ball from his own career as a long
snapper and offensive lineman at
Notre Dame from 2002-05. But watching
his son, Eli Raridon, go through the pro-
cess from West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley
High to Notre Dame brought new lessons.
Unfortunately, those lessons started
when Eli tore the ACL in his right knee
in December of his senior year at Valley
High. Five games into his freshman sea-
son as a tight end for the Irish, Eli tore
the same ACL again.
"The experience as a parent is a very
dramatic roller-coaster ride," Scott said,
"because you get very excited and happy
for your child to accomplish some things
at a very high level. If you let yourself
get carried away with it, you're at a
very, very high point of the roller-
coaster ride and things are going
well. Then when you suffer an
injury like he has, it's crushing.
"You feel terrible for him
and you feel all your hopes
that were happening
for that season are
ELI STAYS EVEN
Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon
tries to stay grounded through
ups and downs
Raridon led Notre Dame in receptions
(9) and receiving yards (182) through
the first two games of the season.
PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP
18 SEPT. 27, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED