Notre Dame football adds exciting piece to WR corps, officially signs four-star Logan Saldate

A tough spot turned bright when the Notre Dame football program lost four-star wide receiver Isiah Canion to a decommitment on July 1. Over the next 20 days, the Fighting Irish dug for a third wide receiver commit and found a diamond in the rough in Logan Saldate. On Wednesday, Notre Dame officially signed the four-star prospect to its 2024 recruiting class.

The Irish flipped the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Saldate from Oregon State to fill the void left by Canion. The latter is the No. 218 overall player, No. 39 wide receiver nationally and No. 26 prospect in Georgia, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Canion is a product of Warner Robins (Ga.). High. He ended up committing to and signing with Georgia Tech. 

When Salinas (Calif.) Palma’s Saldate verbally committed to the Irish on July 21, he was the No. 989 overall player and No. 144 wide receiver in America, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Now, Saldate is the No. 337 player and No. 57 prospect at his position. 

In On3’s own rankings, he is the No. 290 overall prospect, No. 48 wideout in the country and No. 22 California recruit. 

Saldate reported offers from Arizona, California, Oklahoma State, Washington and Washington State before pledging to Oregon State on May 29. He chose the Beavers over California and Oklahoma State. Of course, that commitment only lasted about two months. 

Notre Dame director of recruiting Chad Bowden discovered Saldate. He was one of a few dozen wide receivers the Irish scouted to replace Canion. Bowden asked Saldate and a handful of other 2024 wide receivers to send a video of them running a route tree and 40-yard dash. After the virtual workout, they zeroed in on Saldate and went to work from there. 

Head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, and former wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey pushed for Saldate. They locked in his pledge before he visited campus. 

“When it all started, I talked to my parents, and we decided that if it comes through, then we had to consider Notre Dame,” Saldate told Blue & Gold on July 21. “Just for the simple fact that it’s Notre Dame with the connections after football, education and all that type of stuff. They do a great job. They make me feel welcomed.” 

Saldate finally made the trip to South Bend for an official visit on Sept. 2. They attended the Tennessee State game that weekend and even returned for the Ohio State game. The first trip verified that his Notre Dame verbal commitment was right.

“The campus is beautiful,” Saldate told Blue & Gold on Sept. 6. “All of the coaches were super cool; it was great to finally meet them and some of the other commits.”

Logan Saldate heads to Notre Dame with a legacy left at Palma School

No one knows Notre Dame discovered a gem when they found Saldate more than the Palma School community. He led the Catholic private college prep school to its first-ever state football championship this season. 

Saldate was a stalwart in the Chieftains’ pass game, catching 68 passes for 1,242 yards (18.3 yards per catch) and 15 touchdowns in 14 games. He also added 85 yards and a score via 12 carries on the ground. Those efforts helped him earn Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division offensive player of the year honors for the second consecutive year.

Saldate also achieved that recognition in 2022. As a junior, he caught 54 passes for 713 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and 9 touchdowns. That season, he had 114 yards and 2 scores on 11 rushing attempts. 

He appeared on defense in seven games the last two seasons and had 8 tackles (5 solo) and 2 interceptions. 

The PCAL Gabilan Division named Saldate first-team All-Conference for the first of three times in 2021. During his sophomore campaign, he had 33 catches for 373 yards (11.3 yards per catch) and 6 touchdowns while adding 80 rushing yards on 6 carries. 

Saldate is also an outstanding track athlete. His personal record in the 100-meter dash is 10.82 seconds, and his best time in the 200 is 22.34. His longest jump was 24 feet and a half inches, which became the third-best in all of California last spring. 

He is the younger brother of Chase Saldate, the country’s top 152-pound wrestler in the 2020 class. The elder Saldate currently wrestles at Michigan State. 

Notre Dame expects the younger Saldate to arrive in South Bend in June. He will play in the Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu on Jan. 19.