Elite WR Carnell Tate on Notre Dame: ‘The energy is different’
Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy 2023 four-star wide receiver Carnell Tate is currently predicted to be heading to Ohio State for his college football career, but recent changes at Notre Dame have piqued the four-star recruit’s interest.
According to the current On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, there is a 95.1% chance Tate chooses Ohio State. Notre Dame sits in the second spot, but it is listed at just 3.5%.
On Thursday, Tate joined former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire and Shaun Davis on the Lucky Lefty podcast to discuss his thoughts on his college choice, specifically touching on the coaching switch up for the Irish and how newly minted head coach Marcus Freeman is changing the culture in South Bend.
“Marcus is a great guy,” Tate said when asked of his first impressions of 36-year-old Freeman. “This is my first time seeing him as a head coach. Honestly, whenever I go up there, he’s on the defensive side. So we don’t really communicate. I’ll just say, ‘What’s up’ to him to keep it going, but he’s a great guy. He’s about winning, about changing the program about Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s still Notre Dame, but he’s bringing swagger to it.”
Notre Dame has always had a draw and aura, but Tate is particularly impressed with what he has seen so far from Freeman.
“I’d definitely say it’s a new tradition,” Tate said. “I’m not stepping on [Brian Kelly], but you can definitely see a change up there, honestly. The energy’s different. The players are different. I think it’s going to be different now.”
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Tate both sees the changes himself and hears about them from those committed to head to South Bend.
“Honestly, I talk to them all the time, like Justyn [Rhett], Keon [Keeley],” Tate added. “They said, ‘Marcus is building something different.’ They’re like, ‘What BK didn’t do, BK couldn’t get over the hump. Marcus is gonna get us over the hump, definitely. You need to come check it out. He’s going to make sure the offense [is] straight.’”
Rhett and Keeley are both four-star recruits currently committed to Notre Dame.
More on Tate’s recruitment
Notre Dame could use a difference maker at wide receiver because the program is currently running low on numbers at that position. The Irish signed just one wideout during the early signing period for the 2022 recruiting class in December, after losing a pair of verbal commitments.
The Chicago native has an impressive scouting profile from On3 and a skill set which could provide a spark among future Irish pass catchers:
“Well-rounded receiver with technical savvy and large catch radius. Has very long arms and big hands. Highly coordinated with the ability to track, adjust and high-point the football in contested situations. Has shown some encouraging route-running skills. Doubles as a dangerous return man due to his change of direction and open-field vision. A good athlete with play speed, though not quite as fast as some of his peers in a combine setting.”
Tate is the No. 4 prospect in Florida, and the No. 3 wide receiver and the No. 17 overall player nationally according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Three On3 predictions are in favor of the Buckeyes at this point, with confidence ratings ranging from 55-75%. They remain the only predictions for the wideout’s landing spot.
Tate has visited Notre Dame six times, which is more than any other school on his list. His most recent visit to South Bend was Nov. 21, and his last visit to any school was a Tennessee visit on Jan. 22.
Tate is a junior at IMG Academy in Florida, but he grew up in Chicago. The state of Illinois canceled their high school football season in 2020 due to COVID-19, leading Tate to make the move to the South.
