Carnell Tate Talks Notre Dame, His Game, Recruiting, Decision Timeline And Much, Much More
Notre Dame is making a very, very hard push for five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate, who is one of several very important must-get players on offense for the Irish in the 2023 class.
Tate joined Irish Breakdown recruiting analyst Shaun Davis and former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire on the Lucky Lefty Podcast to talk about the latest in his recruitment as well as many, many other interesting topics.
Here is the story Shaun wrote about his conversation with Tate:
They say you never get a second chance to make a great first impression, but that has not been the case with Notre Dame and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy star wide receiver Carnell Tate. The native of Chicago began his love for Notre Dame going all the way back to his freshman season, but in the years that followed a poor recruiting effort and strategy caused the Irish to fall behind in his recruitment.
Marcus Freeman being promoted to the head coaching position, Chad Bowden’s emergence as the director of recruiting, Chansi Stuckey’s hire as the wide receivers coach and the work being put in by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees gave Notre Dame a chance to make a second first impression with Tate.
Tate’s fondness for Notre Dame’s football program and the institution was felt throughout his family, as various relatives accompanied him during his eight previous visits to campus. His mother, Ashley Griggs, made one of those trips under the previous regime and she left unimpressed.
“When my mom first went up to Notre Dame, she wasn’t really rocking with it,” Tate told Irish Breakdown. “I had to really pull on her and get her to call off work to get her to take her second visit. The first time she was up there, the entire pitch was about playing ball and winning, and that turned her off.”
With Notre Dame having a very special place in Tate’s heart from the beginning, it was very important to secure the approval of his mother if he was ever going to be part of the Notre Dame program.
So, with the assistance of other family members who shared a similar affection for Notre Dame, Tate finally convinced his mother to accompany on another visit on March 17. However, family plans for spring break finally moved the visit to March 15 and they made the 88-mile trek to South Bend in hopes of the new staff making a better first impression than the previous leadership.
“I literally had to drag her out this time, she really wasn’t messing with it,” Tate said. "I’m like mom, it’s different this time. When you get out there, you’ll see.”
Upon their arrival, Tate and Griggs were greeted by Freeman, Rees and Bowden for breakfast. That trio made an immediate impression on Griggs. After breakfast Tate went to spend time with players while the staff continued meeting with Ms. Griggs. The staff laid out their vision for why Notre Dame was in fact the right place for her son on and off the football field.
“She loves Chad Bowden and she like what Coach Rees had to say.”
The Fighting Irish staff chiseled away at her wall of doubt with conversations that felt real and authentic, and finally she heard what she always wanted to hear all along.
“What turned everything around this time was how the coaches made her feel like I would be taken care of,” explained the five-star wideout. “This time she heard about what the program could do for young men after football, especially young black men. She loves that they can give me a lot of opportunities after football.”
During the visit Tate’s mother began to develop some of the same affection for the program that her son already possessed. Stuckey was especially impactful during this visit, discussing how Tate would be developed on the field, and how he would have a chance to shine early in his career.
Tate took full advantage of his time spent with the players.
“I’ve been up here like 7 or 8 times, I know the staff and I don’t need a campus tour, so spending time with the players felt comfortable for me,” noted Tate. “I just needed my mom to see that everything was all good.”
Tate and Griggs went off the grid a bit following the visit as they focused on their family trip, and focused on reacting to everything that was said and happened during the visit.
Tate noted that his focus was on his love for Notre Dame and his time with Stuckey and the players. Ms. Griggs expressed that she could now see why her son felt such a strong connection with the new Irish staff, and her comfort with the resources that would be at his disposal at Notre Dame, both on and off the field.
That March 15 visit was nearly flawless, but there is still plenty of work to be done for the Notre Dame staff. Now, however, when Notre Dame reaches out to Ms. Griggs the reaction is quite different than it was before.
“My mom loves when Coach Stuckey calls her,” Tate said. “They have great communication and they talk all the time now, so that’s good right there.”
Tate has a tentative timetable to make a commitment by the early summer. Notre Dame has put itself in position to continue making up major ground in his recruitment and the Fighting Irish are going to be major, major players for Tate as he begins to enter his decision making mode over the next few months.
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