Notre Dame football: Top 5 wide receivers in school history
One of the all-time great wide receivers in Notre Dame history, Tom Gatewood was an All-American in 1970 and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Gatewood set a long string of receiving records during his time in South Bend, the majority of which stood for between 15 and 30 years. This shows just how Gatewood’s play was able to stand the test of time. Despite coming from an era where passing was typically only on 3rd down, his records lasted through offenses opening up and going to pass based attacks.
His record for 7.7 catches per game, still stands as the Notre Dame record for a single season.
Tom Gatewood played under Ara Parseghian and went to multiple Cotton Bowls. That includes the 1971 Cotton Bowl, when Notre Dame beat first ranked Texas, who hadn’t lost since September 28th of 1968. He caught a touchdown pass in each Cotton Bowl appearance, and Notre Dame’s record during his time there was 26-5-1.
During his time with Notre Dame Gatewood amassed 157 catches, for 2,283 yards, and 19 touchdowns. In his consensus All-American season of 1970 Gatewood he had 77 catches, for 1,123 yards, and seven touchdowns. Those were single-season records for yards and receptions until 2005 and 2006, respectively.
It’s also worth pointing that Gatewood was the first African-American captain in the history of Notre Dame football. That’s a lot of pressure to take on when he did, and it is a resounding legacy to leave.
To go along with all of Gatewood’s on the field accomplishments, he was also a two time Academic All-American.
Gatewood is without a doubt one of the all-time great wide receivers in Notre Dame history. With that being said, it seems his legacy is often forgotten about or overlooked for other great Irish wide receivers. Many would put more modern receivers like Golden Tate or Will Fuller ahead of him, based purely on their stats. However, for the style of offense that Gatewood played in, mixed with the legacy that he left in South Bend, he is deserving of making this list.