The Irish will lose quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate to the NFL Draft, they will lose 4 of their 5 starters on their O-Line, and their defense struggled mightily this season. In that case, what position will be the most crucial for the incoming recruiting class?
Golden Tate was the 2009 winner of the Fred Bilitnikoff trophy that goes to the best wide receiver in college football. Tate beat out Freddie Barnes of Bowling Green and Jordan Shipley of Texas to win the award.
Tate had an incredible season catching 93 balls for 1,395 yards and 15 touchdowns and took over as the main offensive weapon when sophomore Michael Floyd went down with an injury.
Although winning the award was bittersweet for Irish fans because Tate and Jimmy Clausen will be going to the NFL next year. Look for receivers like Michael Floyd and Duvall Kamara to step in next season in the absence of Tate.
Notre Dame lost two underclassmen to the NFL draft next season, wide receiver Golden Tate and quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
You would have to think that the decisions by both Tate and Clausen played largely into the departure of head coach Charlie Weis. Even with Weis’s firing, Clausen and Tate had extraordinary seasons. Tate hauled in 93 catches for 1,495 yards and 15 touchdowns and is a finalist for the Biletnikoff award that goes to the most outstanding receiver in college football. Clausen had his most impressive season yet, throwing for over 3,700 yards, 28 touchdowns and only getting picked off four times. Both guys are NFL ready in my opinion, it is just a shame they both couldn’t stick around for one more season.
Next year will be interesting with backup quarterback Dayne Crist taking over, but will have to overcome surgery that he had on his knee. Crist was heavily recruited out of high school, but has never got a chance to start because of Clausen. Look for Crist to miss some of spring practice, but make his debut at the start of the season.
Tate will be missed as a big play guy in the passing game and running game. He has truly been a jack of all trades showing some skill returning punts as well. Tate is one of those guys that is almost impossible to game plan for because of his speed and deceptive strength. Although Tate will be gone, look for sophomore Michael Floyd to step up after being injured for a few games during the season with a collar bone injury, but the Irish have a slew of receivers to try and take over the role of Tate. Junior Duvall Kamara brings a large target (6 foot 5), fresman Shaquelle Evans, freshman Robbie Toma, sophomore tight end Kyle Rudolph, will all have to step up next season with the loss of Tate.
Though the Irish lose two great players, they have some pretty solid backups behind them.
Photo courtesy of NBC Sports
This is a good article about Charlie Weis and who could be replacing him as the Notre Dame head football coach next season.(article)
It is not definite, but Weis may have drawn his last straw with a loss to a 4-5 opponent in Connecticut, but more importantly the Irish fall to 6-5. A season that had implications of going to a BCS bowl game and possibly a national championship, Weis and the Irish have grossly underachieved.
Not only does Charlie look to be on his way out, but quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, and wide-receiver, Golden Tate, could potentially be going to the NFL next season. This could all be a disaster for recruiting for next season, especially if the Irish can’t figure out soon what they are going to do for a head coach next football season.
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