Golden Tate LOVED his Notre Dame Visit

Rumors circulated over the weekend that Golden Tate committed to Notre Dame. While those rumors proved to be false, for now, the Tennessean reported today that Tate absolutely loved his visit to Notre Dame.

“There isn’t anything I don’t love about Notre Dame,” Tate said. “After my visit, they’re at the top right now. I would say them and Vanderbilt, because I’ve visited there and I know about those schools.” (LINK)

Tate also told the Tennessean that the Irish are recruiting him as a running back which is a bit surprising since the Irish already landed speedy Armando Allen and are still heavily involved with the bruising Robert Hughes.

“He said he doesn’t have any favorites and he plays whoever is the best,” Tate said. “He feels I can probably make an impact as a true freshman. Notre Dame is recruiting me as a tailback, but I think I might want to play receiver because (receivers) Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight are graduating.”

If Notre Dame lands Robert Hughes, I think Tate would definitely play receiver for the Irish should he join this class.

What exactly did Tate like about Notre Dame on his visit?

“I learned their graduation rate is 99.3, which is pretty good,” Tate said. “If you go there, you’re pretty much guaranteed to graduate from Notre Dame, which looks pretty good on a résumé.

“You get to play for a team that is competing for the BCS every year, and you’re playing for one of the best (former) offensive coordinators (Weis) on Earth.”

Now how nice is it to hear that coming from a recruit??? In just over two years Weis has been able to sell recruits on the fact that Notre Dame is competing for the BCS every year – which he has back up with consecutive BCS bowl berths – as well as the fact that they will be playing a pro-style offense.

Now compare this to what Willingham could sell recruits on… “Son, if we play well, the Gator or Insight.com Bowl are fine holiday destinations. Our offense, might not prepare you for the NFL, but if you are a quarterback, the Bill Deidrick pre-snap “dump” formation will prepare you very well for future trips to the bathroom.”

On a serious note, getting recruits like Tate is what is really going to close the Talent gap between Notre Dame and the rest of the elite in college football. The kid has great speed and would be a threat at wide receiver or running back because of his big play potential.
While Tate might not fill a critical void such as defensive end or linebacker in this class, getting him and recruits like him to sign with Notre Dame this year will be the difference between a top 5 class and a top 10-15 class.