Focused
Notre Dame's Tate talks about rebounding from USC and preparing for Boston College
When Notre Dame began the 2009 football season, the Irish featured the dynamic receiving duo of junior Golden Tate and sophomore Michael Floyd. However, that tandem was broken up when Floyd cracked his collarbone during a Week 3 victory over Michigan State.
Since then, Tate has overcome countless double-teams from opposing defenses and become Jimmy Clausen's favorite target. The former running back also has excelled out of the Wildcat formation as Charlie Weis tries to find different ways to get the ball into the hands of Notre Dame's most explosive player. Leading up to this weekend's matchup with Boston College, I had a chance to talk with Tate while hosting the Jack Swarbrick radio show.
You guys have had five straight games that have gone down to the wire … each game has been decided in the closing seconds and has been decided by seven points or less. As a player, what has that been like to be on the field week after week in those final minutes with the game on the line?
Golden Tate: We're just trying to give the fans their money's worth (laughs). To be honest, the first few games, we were thinking, OK, it's luck and we got lucky to get out of it. But as the season goes on, it keeps happening over and over and we figure it's just the way we play ball. We wish it wasn't like that, but we know that at the end of the game, if we put the offense on the field, we're going to move the ball regardless of what team we're facing. We don't go into a game saying we want it to go down to the fourth quarter, but it is what it is, and we've adapted to that and just play accordingly.
In recent weeks, you've had the chance to play running back in Notre Dame's Wildcat offense. What's the difference between playing wide receiver and running back, and which do you prefer?
GT: The biggest difference is that as a receiver, you never know when you're going to get the ball. At running back, you pretty much know when you're going to get the ball. For me, it was just using my instinct at running back, having a feel of when to make a cut and of where the defender is. At wide receiver, it's a lot more technique I think. I came in as a running back and was switched to wide receiver. It was a real tough time for me at first, but I think I'm adapting well.
Before Michael Floyd broke his collarbone, the trio of you, Floyd and tight end Kyle Rudolph made up arguably one of the best receiver groups in the country. What was it like playing on the same field as both of those guys when Floyd was healthy, knowing the challenges that the opposing defense was facing, and how have you changed your game to pick up some of the slack since Floyd went down during the Michigan State game?
GT: When I had Mike and Kyle together, it was great. I knew that if they doubled one of us, someone was going to be wide open. We knew that we had a way to beat teams every game. When Floyd went down, I had been there before. Last year when he went down against Navy, I knew I was going to have to step up, but I wasn't prepared to. I was used to just beating people on "go" routes. This year, when Mike went out, I'd been there. I knew what it was like to lose one of your big players. I took it upon myself to study film more and practice even better than I had. I just come out every game expecting to be double-teamed, and hoping that they do single-cover me.
Talk a little about this weekend's opponent, Boston College. What challenges does their defense pose for the Irish?
GT: We know that they're going to play very, very hard. They're a very athletic team. We expect them to drop eight into coverage with split safeties for support. We know that guys are going to be double-teamed and that we're going to have to execute the intermediate routes. That requires a lot of patience. I think Robby [Parris] is going to have a big day because he loves to find a little hole in the coverage and make his hay, per se.
Charlie Weis talked this week about how he reached out to Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich when Herzlich revealed earlier this year that he'd been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a form of cancer in his leg. You have a relationship with Mark as well. Can you talk about that relationship and how it came about?
GT: I remember playing against Mark last year … he played very hard and is a very modest person. When you have a tragedy like that happen, when you have cancer and you can't play the game that you love anymore, it hurts. This guy was going to go first-round [in the NFL draft] if he would have left last year, and then they tell him that he has cancer. I just really admire how he handled it. He tried to be at practice whenever he could and he tried to help the team. And he kept his head up -- you never saw his head down. Those are the type of people that I want surround myself with. I really look up to the kid so I made an effort to get his number and to actually get to know him. He really appreciates life, and he's definitely a person that I would recommend people get to know.
As the Irish get set to host Boston College, you're coming off that heartbreaking loss to USC last weekend. Can you talk about the mentality of the team going into Saturday's game, trying to recover from the loss to the Trojans, put it behind you and concentrate on the six games that are remaining?
GT: No doubt we lost a heartbreaker last week. We definitely thought we had opportunities to win the game, and we thought we could definitely compete with those guys. We weren't going into that game hoping to keep it close. We were going in to win and we certainly had a chance to do so. We were all down last Saturday night, and on Sunday, coach Weis did a good job of giving us time to think about what happened. We came in on Monday with a game plan for the second half of our season, and we want to start it off this Saturday. It's starting to get late in the season, and we just have to keep our legs fresh and I think if we take it one game at a time, we'll be able to come out on top.
