Hurricanes’ Alex Bauman won’t get to face Notre Dame brother, but should have role for UM
Alex Bauman was looking forward to the chance to play a college football game against his brother.
When the Miami Hurricanes host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Aug. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium in a top-10 matchup — UM is ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25 poll while Notre Dame is No. 6 — it would have marked the first time that Alex and Kevin Bauman, both tight ends, would have faced off in their careers.
“Obviously we’ve had backyard battles growing up and stuff like that, 1-on-1s in the backyard with my dad throwing the ball, but we never really competed on opposite sides of the ball like that or on opposite teams,” Alex Bauman said last week. “We’ve always been on the same team throughout little league ball, flag football, high school football. I’m excited for that opportunity to go against my brother.”
That opportunity, however, won’t come.
Notre Dame announced Saturday that Kevin Bauman sustained a season-ending left knee injury that will require surgery. It’s the third major injury of his career. Kevin Bauman announced Saturday on Instagram that he is retiring from football due to the latest injury.
“Life is all about the journey,” Kevin Bauman wrote in the post. “Unfortunately, I suffered yet another season-ending injury. And while I have been struggling to let it all soak in, I have taken a few days and prayed about it. While my journey as a football player has come to an end, I can confidently say the rest of my life is just getting started.”
While Kevin Bauman spent his entire college career at Notre Dame, Alex Bauman is entering his first at Miami after three solid years at Tulane.
At 6-5 and 250 pounds and with 39 games under his belt, he brings a blend of size, skill and experience to the Hurricanes’ tight end room that is led by sophomore Elija Lofton. During his time at Tulane, Bauman caught 63 passes for 610 yards and 13 touchdowns — with 12 of those touchdowns coming in the past two years. Ten of those 13 touchdown catches have come in the red zone.
“Al’s come in and he’s put his head down every single day,” Hurricanes tight ends coach Cody Woodiel said. “His progression that he’s made here, physically with what he’s done for his body, he’s up about 10-12 pounds from the weight he played at last year. He’s done an unbelievable job for us. And I could not be happier that he’s here with us. The way he’s performing, he’s showing up every day like a veteran. It’s what you expect. He’s doing exactly what you expect.”
While Bauman has shown his abilities as a pass catcher, the senior said he has put an onus on improving his blocking and doing a better job reading defenses before the snap heading into the season.
When it comes to work at the line of scrimmage, Bauman said it’s all about “hand usage.”
“Keeping a sturdy base and keeping your hands inside is where you’re going to win and gain leverage,” Bauman said. “When you get your hands outside you have no power, and that’s when powerful guys like Rueben [Bain] and Akheem [Mesidor] and Armondo [Blount] and all those guys can use their strength and get under you and move you. But if you stay inside and have leverage, then you have a good chance of winning that.”
As for how to handle coverages against linebackers and safeties as he moves up to the Power 4 level, Bauman stressed the importance of “having a plan at the line of scrimmage.”
“Whether it’s Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 3, man, you’ve got to be able to dissect the defense and then run the route that you have game planned against that sort of defense,” Bauman said.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM.
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