Five-star WR Carnell Tate schedules Notre Dame visit
Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy class of 2023 wide receiver Carnell Tate tells BlueandGold.com that he’ll be visiting Notre Dame next weekend.
This is big news for the Fighting Irish. Tate ranks as the nation’s No. 13 overall player and No. 2 wide receiver, plus the No. 4 player in Florida. The Notre Dame staff offered Tate a year and a half ago and has treated him like the top of the board target he is.
His visit to Notre Dame is schedule for March 17 — the Irish’s first day of spring practice — and will be his seventh time in South Bend. He took a self-guided tour in March of 2021, made it to campus three times last summer and twice last fall.
The Notre Dame staff shakeup has not seem to impact Tate’s curiosity in joining the Irish program. He’s close with Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and is connecting with new receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, head coach Marcus Freeman and director of recruiting Chad Bowden.
“Coach (Brian) Kelly is gone; things are still the same with my interest in Notre Dame,” Tate recently told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I have a good relationship with Coach Rees and I am starting to build one with Coach Stuckey.
“Notre Dame has been there from day one, I have been there a lot, and I still like the program.”
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Ohio State vs. Notre Dame battle for Tate?
According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Buckeyes hold the heavy lead for Tate.
In large part due to three On3 insider predictions logged for Tate to land at Ohio State, the Ryan Day’s program has a 96.3 percent chance to land Tate according to the RPM algorithm. Notre Dame has the second-best odds at 2.6 percent.
The RPM is only a forecast. Where Tate ultimately ends up remains to be seen. There are a number of other programs that he is considering.
“I am also looking at LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami, and some others,” he said. “I am staying patient right now after all the coaching moves to see how everything settles.
“March will be a busy month for me. I plan on taking a lot of visits after the dead period.”
Irish need to address wide receiver depth issues
Landing a top-two wide receiver prospect is always going to be a big deal, but gaining a commitment from Tate would address a particularly glaring hole in the Notre Dame offense at the wideout position.
Notre Dame landed just one receiver in the 2022 class, four-star Washington native Tobias Merriweather. Additionally, the Irish are set to have eight scholarship wide receivers on the team next year after former walk on Matt Salerno earned a scholarship. Playing the 2022 season with that small number of wide receivers is quite the gamble. Look for Notre Dame to land someone from the transfer portal before the start of next season.
