Basketball background makes Eli Raridon a slam dunk draft pick for Patriots

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 18: Eli Raridon #9 of Notre Dame runs with the ball while Jaylen Hudson #15 of Wake Forest tries to tackle him during a game between Wake Forest University and University of Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on November 18, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images) | Getty Images

In December of his senior year at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, Eli Raridon tore the ACL in his right knee. A standout on the team’s varsity football team who, as a four-star recruit, had multiple scholarship offers lined up, he suffered the injury competing in another sport: basketball.

Raridon had played both football and basketball since his early childhood, and the injury suddenly forced him pause what had been a promising career. It also set the stage for a journey that ultimately led to him joining the New England Patriots as a third-round draft choice on Friday.

Raridon underwent surgery after the torn ACL, in hopes of quickly returning to the football field as a college freshman at Notre Dame. He managed to do so, but just 10 months after the initial injury tore the same ligament again. This second tear resulted in more missed time, a slower buildup at the college level, and eventually in Raridon not fully cracking the Fighting Irish starting lineup until his 2025 senior season.

The multi-year saga can all be traced back to that fateful day on the basketball court in December 2021. And yet, as Raridon explained during his introductory conference call with the New England media, his second sport is precisely why he has become the player he is today.

“Basketball was always part of my life growing up, and I really feel like it helped me be better controlled with my body going up, high-pointing the ball, things like that,” he explained. “I think it’s definitely helped me translate early on in my career.”