Follows 11-year NFL career, five of which were played in Detroit.
Notre Dame football’s recent troubles in recruiting elite wide receivers are well chronicled, but this has not always been the case.
There have been good receivers over the last decade, but Notre Dame has never recruited top-tier receivers in consecutive years like it did in 2007 and 2008 with Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.
The 2007 version of that iconic duo is now on its way to the television booth.
Golden Tate Joins Detroit Lions TV Team
The NFL clearly provides national broadcasts for all regular season games, but the teams are responsible for creating their own telecasts during the preseason.
The Detroit Lions are preparing to begin their three-game preseason schedule, and former Notre Dame star and 2009 Belitnikoff Award winner Golden Tate will be behind the microphone.
Tate spent 11 seasons in the NFL, five of them with the Lions. Honolulu Blue accounts for 416 of his 695 career receptions and 22 of his 46 touchdowns.
On August 8, the Lions will play their first preseason game away from home against the New York Giants. Then, on August 17, they’ll travel to face the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Detroit’s sole home preseason game is on August 24, when it hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Excited to covered one of the most exciting teams in the NFL https://t.co/xaSqjcqYH8
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) August 2, 2024
Golden Tate the Notre Dame Star
Golden Tate only played at Notre Dame for three seasons, but it was evident thereafter that he was ready for the NFL.
Tate had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at Notre Dame in 2008 and 2009, scoring 29 touchdowns in blue and gold.
Tate’s 2009 season may have been the finest of any Notre Dame wide receiver ever. Tate, the recipient of the Belitnikoff Award, given yearly to the nation’s greatest wide receiver, with 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns. That fall, he rushed for an additional 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Tate’s 2,707 career receiving yards at Notre Dame are second in program history, trailing only Michael Floyd’s 3,686. Floyd was a key component of Notre Dame’s back-to-back big wide receiver recruiting victory in 2008.
Golden Tate’s Memorable Michigan State Band Dive
With 2,707 career receiving yards, there are bound to be many memorable plays and catches.
With Golden Tate, however, there is one touchdown celebration that Notre Dame supporters remember more than any other.
With just over five minutes to play in 2009, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw a downfield dime to Tate, giving the Irish a late lead. Tate made the over-the-shoulder grab and surged into the Michigan State band. Check it out again below.