On3 Consensus 5-star WR Carnell Tate is down to five schools

Carnell Tate is home this week in Chicago from IMG Academy in Bradenton (Fla.) for his final spring break as a high school student. This time next year, he will likely be in the middle of spring practice at the school he signs with in December.

The No. 13 prospect in the On3 Consensus has around 40 offers and with a decision coming this summer, he has cut his list of schools down to five. Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee are the finalists for the five-star wide receiver.

“This is it,” Tate told On3. “These are my final five schools and when I commit in the summer, it will be to one of these schools. The way these schools develop players, my relationship with the coaches and the NIL opportunities at each put these schools at the top.”

LSU, Miami and Michigan are three more schools that gave Tate a lot to think about, but getting it down to five schools was not too difficult.

“At the beginning, things are hard because you are talking to everyone. But over time, as the process goes, it gets easier. By the end, when things get serious, we are only talking for real to a small group of schools. That’s just how the relationships go.

“It really was not that hard for me to get this down to a top five. It worked out over time and I feel good about these schools.”

More visits for Tate before his summer commitment

There is no date set for Tate to commit, but he knows it will happen before his senior year. The No. 2 wide receiver in the country was at Notre Dame Tuesday for another unofficial visit. He is set to visit Georgia for the first time next weekend (March 26) and he has locked in an official visit to Tennessee on the weekend of April 8.

Tate has not visited Alabama or Georgia yet, but the two SEC schools that played in the National Championship game earlier this year have done enough to land in the final group.

“The player development at both Alabama and Georgia is very good,” Tate said. “I feel if I go to Alabama and become successful, then I am definitely going to the NFL. Coach Wiggins and coach Gillespie are good coaches there too. Alabama is a great program.

“Georgia has B-Mac (Bryan McClendon) now and that is big. He recruited me at Oregon, then when he went to Miami and he is on me even harder at Georgia. That connection with him is a big reason Georgia is in the final five.”

Notre Dame is the school Tate has visited the most. He has visited South Bend over half a dozen times and the Irish have been in this from the beginning.

“Notre Dame was one of the first four or five schools to offer me, so they have been with me from the start. Brian Kelly left, but I feel my relationship with the coaches has gotten even stronger since. I talk to coach Rees a lot, me and coach Stuckey have gotten to know each other and Notre Dame has a lot that I like. I know a lot about the school.”

Ohio State was in Tate’s top two in the fall when he almost committed in October. The Buckeyes have to like their position late in the process.

“It is all about coach Hartline with Ohio State. From his player development to how he recruits, coach Hartline is one of the best. His experience is big. He played in college, he played in the NFL and he uses all that experience to be successful. I will be back at Ohio State April 1-3.”

Tennessee is a school that got Tate on campus late in the season and the Vols quickly became one of the top schools. The offense Josh Heupel runs appeals to Tate.

“Coach Heupel throws the ball a lot and he always produces top wide receivers. His top receiver will get 1,000 yards and he knows how to feature big receivers. I like coach Heupel a lot and coach Pope has come in and recruited me greatly since coach Burns left. The fans at Tennessee are awesome too.”