The Notre Dame football program looked quite a bit different when Carnell Tate last visited campus.

Former head coach Brian Kelly was still leading the Irish when Tate stopped by campus on November 21 for his sixth trip to Notre Dame last year.

When Tate, a five-star wide receiver in the 2023 class, returns to Notre Dame on Tuesday with his mother, he'll get his first look at the program with new head coach Marcus Freeman in charge. Freeman, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey were among the handful of Notre Dame coaches who made visits to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy in January to let Tate and other top targets at the school know how much the Irish value them.

With IMG Academy on spring break this week, Tate was able to return the favor with another visit to Notre Dame.

Rees has played a major role in Notre Dame's recruitment of Tate, who started his high school career at Chicago Marist. He and Stuckey are tasked with convincing Tate that his skill set can be maximized in Notre Dame's offense.

Stuckey has added a new voice to the mix since joining Notre Dame's staff in January. Tate should already be well-versed in what the Irish were all about after his six visits last year, but he needs to be sold on where the program is going moving forward too.

Tate has attracted offers from all over the country and hinted on Twitter that an announcement would be coming Tuesday. That could be a new list of top schools. When Tate named his top 10 last June, the following schools made the cut: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Michigan, Texas, LSU, Florida State, Illinois and Penn State.

Ohio State and Tennessee have surged as major contenders for Tate alongside Notre Dame. Tate has visited the Buckeyes at least four times and two of his most recent visits went to Tennessee in November and January. Since then, the Volunteers promoted Kelsey Pope to wide receivers coach after Kodi Burns left for the New Orleans Saints.

Tate also made a visit to USC last weekend with his South Florida Express 7-on-7 team competing in the Pylon Los Angeles tournament.

Notre Dame needs to add talent at wide receiver to its top-ranked 2023 class. The Irish have yet to add a commitment from a wide receiver after signing only four-star recruit Tobias Merriweather in the 2023 class.

The Irish are trying to close on five-star quarterback Dante Moore to give top wide receiver recruits another reason to want to join Notre Dame's class. Moore and Tate are friends and have been on Notre Dame's campus together in the past.

In addition to Tate, who Rivals ranks as the No. 3 wide receiver and No. 13 overall in the 2023 class, the Irish are pursuing a number of four-star wide receivers including Jaden Greathouse, Braylon James, Rodney Gallagher, Rico Flores Jr., Tyler Williams and Malik Elzy.

Tate's visit will mark the unofficial start of a big recruiting stretch for the Irish. Notre Dame will host several visitors throughout the week with many more expected later in the month and through the Blue-Gold Game on April 23.

Notre Dame will also make a big recruiting push in the 2024 class Thursday with a "Pot of Gold" themed campaign for St. Patrick's Day. The Irish also start spring practice Thursday.

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