Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Catch Him If You Can | by Pat

Let's take a breather from the coaching gossip and presser parsing for a second and stump for one of our own. One of the silver linings in this dark cloud of a season has been the play of Golden Tate. Recently named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, Tate should be the heavy favorite to take home the hardware on December 10th. But even if the award goes to Heisman front-runner Colt McCoy's roommate Jordan Shipley or darkhorse candidate Freddie Barnes of Bowling Green, Tate still had a season for the ages and broke numerous Notre Dame single season and career records. Tate is also in very exclusive company nationally. Consider...

#8 in total touchdowns (18)
#6 in receptions (93)
#4 in receiving yards (1496)
#4 in receiving yards per game (124.7)
#2 in receiving touchdowns (15)
#1 in 100-yard receiving games (9)
Tate has also lined up at 8 (!) positions for Notre Dame this season, spending time at the X, Y, and Z receiver spots in addition to running back, fullback, quarterback in the wildcat, punt returner, and kickoff returner. He's the only one of the three finalists who scored a touchdown this season as a receiver, rusher, and returner.

But enough numbers, sit back and enjoy 6 solid minutes of the most exciting player to suit up for ND since Rocket.