Notre Dame football: 10 greatest Fighting Irish quarterback-receiver duos
The Notre Dame football program has seen great quarterbacks throughout the years and because of that, the careers of a number of Fighting Irish receivers have taken off. Oftentimes, a great receiver has elevated a quarterback’s stock as well.
That symbiotic has created fireworks and launched countless NFL careers throughout the program’s history; not to mention the second most national championships among current FBS teams behind Alabama.
With all of that in mind, Slap the Sign is taking a look at the greatest duos in the passing game in Notre Dame’s timeline.
Here are the 10 greatest Notre Dame football quarterback-receiver duos of all time
Notre Dame football Football QB/REC Duo No. 10: Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate
- Jimmy Clausen: 2007 – 2009 (8,148 career yards passing, 60 touchdowns)
- Golden Tate: 2007 – 2009 (2,707 career yards receiving, 29 touchdowns)
Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate would go on to the NFL to have varying degrees of success at the professional level, but both were on the same page while together in South Bend. Tate sits at No. 5 in career receptions at Notre Dame (157) and his 93 receptions and 15 touchdowns are the most in a single season of any Fighting Irish wideout ever.
That isn’t to say Clausen was a slouch. Far from it. The California native was named a midseason All-American by Sporting News midway through his junior season, his last before departing for the NFL draft, where he’d be selected in the second round.
Needless to say, though, Clausen benefitted more from Tate than vice versa. That doesn’t mean this duo didn’t do great things together.