It’s a big week for former Notre Dame stud wide receiver Golden Tate. College football’s best receiver is good enough to play in the NFL-but is he good enough to be more than a third receiver-type? The scout’s have questions about his size, and ability to separate (losing defensive backs while running his routes), but his play-making and yards-after-catch ability are intriguing enough to have him projected as a second rounder-or sometimes even sneaking into the first round.

Where he actually ends up will be determined in a large part due to his combine performance (which can have roughly the same importance of a director casting Kevin Spacey as a villain, unless the receiver in question is a Larry Fitzgerald-type with no question marks on film). Golden knows this, and therefore has his trusty to-do list that hits on the points he needs to address to make first round money.

And, the Blarney has it.

1.) Run a legit (electronically-timed) 4.4. In a land of skyscraper receivers (6′5 is prototype), elite speed still rules. Despite going so far as to borrow a page from the Mark McGwire playbook (page 1, paragraph 1-inject anything to enhance performance) and “shoot up” milk (”it does a body good”) into my system, I ain’t growin’ any taller. A great 40 will negate that problem.

2.) Be explosive on the 3-cone drill. Scouts are doubting my ability to separate from defensive backs, partly because many of my big catches were in traffic-with the defender right on or near me. What they don’t realize is that defenses played us zone heavy-having 7 or 8 defenders back in coverage. So, a defense always had someone around. As smart as Charlie was, he fell in love with passing a little too much (defenses didn’t have to respect the run), and his playbook turned into a Tecmo Bowl-like “throw it deep on every other play” because of me and Mike’s skills.

3.) Run a legit 4.4. (See above.) At the very least, Al Davis will draft me.

4.) Put hands in a hyperbaric chamber (just like David Duchovny in Zoolander). Gotta protect the strongest and best hands in the country.

5.) Show improved route-running. Another reason that Mel Kiper thinks I will have trouble losing defensive backs. I’m still a converted running back-learning the nuances of route- running.

6.) Run a legit 4.4. Did I mention that already?

Golden Tate was the best receiver in college football this year. Period. Point. Blank. He had the most consistent production (most 100-yard games), he made the most spectacular plays (like the leaping touchdown grab over the entire Washington State defense), and he was the most dangerous weapon a quarterback could have (the Biletnikoff says so).

He is good enough play in The League. But, will he be a star? Golden’s hands (super glue), speed (cheetah), instincts (Donald Trump in Real Estate), strength (Hercules), and running ability (Michael Scofield from state prisons) say “yes”. His height (short like Cliff’s Notes), and route running skills, or ability to separate (all the smoothness of Marlboro cigarette), say “no”.

I have heard his route running mentioned in the negative on more than one occasion. Mel Kiper cited that skill as a reason to have Tate as a second or third round pick (though I think later mocks have him sneaking into the late first round). ESPN’s Colin Cowherd cited route running as the reason that Texas’s Jordan Shipley (he made stud Alabama defensive backs look silly in the BCS Championship) will have a long career, and the reason that Golden Tate (many of his catches were spectacular because he always had multiple defenders around him) will struggle.

So, will he be a success, or will he struggle?

My guess is success, based on two reasons.

1.) A scout’s tendency to put too much emphasis on one negative factor, and magnify it more than it needs to be.

2.) Tate has far more big-time skills than he has negative qualities.

For the first point, one doesn’t need to look hard to see that talent evaluators will take a single negative-and hold it over against a player like your wife held the one time you took her sister’s side in an argument ten years ago over your head (you remember, it took 6 “I’m Sorry” cards, 10 boxes of Dove Chocolates, 3 pleadings on the knees, a trip to Disney World, and 6 more months before she let you see her naked again). They do this to every player under the microscope. Take Tim Tebow’s throwing motion. Now, it does take Tebow as long to get rid of the ball as it takes to complete a game of Monopoly (Why won’t it end!), and elite NFL quarterbacks are able to get rid of the ball between one and two seconds, but that doesn’t mean he needs to become a tight end, necessarily. He can work on his release, he can live out of the shotgun, learn to read defenses better, etc., to improve his release time. (For the record, the baseline measure for “activity accomplished in an adequate time”, was Negro League star Satchel Paige. He could turn off the lights, run up the stairs, hop into bed, and impregnate a white girl in the time it takes for Tebow to cock the ball behind his shoulder.)

Tate, like Tebow, does have a thing or two going against him. But, he has imperfections that can be corrected or negated (his timing and leaping ability already negate his lack of height) by practice and natural improvement. (He is just three years removed from being a running back, and still learning the wide receiver position.)

For the second point, given the gluttony of positives mentioned earlier, Golden should still have an excellent shot in the NFL.

If he can just learn to separate.

Notre Dame fans haven’t had much to look forward to during the last 10-15 years of the NFL draft. Before the days of DVR, you would have to concoct a mixture of Red Bull, Snickers, Cocaine, and BP 93 gasoline just to have the energy to stay up long enough to watch the first Irish player taken. See, not many Notre Dame players have been getting selected (early), and not many have been making an impact in the NFL. (Odd, lack of elite players has coincided with lack of success on Saturday afternoons.) First rounders since the mid 90’s don’t go very deep. Brady Quinn in 2007, Jeff Faine in 2003, Luke Petigout in 1999, and Renaldo Wynn in 1997. Sure there have been some mid rounders that have had moderate success (Bert Berry, Allen Rossum, Justin Tuck) but the Irish don’t blow up the draft like Miami, USC, Ohio State, and others. (Miami and Ohio State have had more 1st rounders than the Irish have Catholics.)

Not surprisingly, the Irish can’t compete with these programs.

But, the program is on the rise, and there are a number of guys on the current roster who have NFL days and 1st round pick potential ahead. Here is my rundown of the players that could be big impact picks:

STUD ALERT

Jimmy Clausen.

He still has a lot to prove, but Jimmy has 1st round talent. Period. Brady Quinn had the most NFL tools of any Irish quarterback I’ve seen, but Clausen should be better than him in almost every area by the time he’s done. Jimmy has a stronger arm, more accuracy, and at least equal intelligence. He was bred with genetically modified DNA proteins to be an NFL quarterback. If he can equal Quinn’s leadership and poise in the next 2 years, this guy is a top 10 pick (hey, it doesn’t hurt to be ND’s quarterback either).

Golden Tate.

Notre Dame’s rawest receiver is also its biggest playmaker. He is the guy who brings Notre Dame the big play potential of the Rocket or Tim Brown. Cornerbacks tried kryptonite to stop is go route, only to find that the Golden one is indeed human. Speed, elusiveness, leaping ability, and hands-Tate has everything you want except the Randy Moss-size. Tate’s hands and concentration are unparalleled in college ball-if the ball is in the air, he will get it. If he perfects the nuances of the position (route running, setting up defensive backs), he can sneak into the first round.

Micheal Floyd.

If Golden Tate wants to be the Irish’s biggest play receiver, he might have to go Anderson “The Spider” Silva all over Mr. Floyd-and knock him out of commission. If Tate is Rocket (with better hands), then Floyd is Larry Fitzgerald. The fellow Minnesotans have strikingly similar games, and everything you could want in a receiver. Floyd can run every route, and beat you with his height, his wheels, or his moves. He only needs to improve his concentration (he had a few too many almost spectacular plays where he didn’t quite come down with the ball). Floyd translates to the NFL better than Tate (size/speed combo), and will be a top 15 pick if he stays on pace.

Kyle Rudolph.

He will be Notre Dame’s best tight end. Ever. (Sorry Mark Bavarro, Dave Casper, Irv smith, Anthony Fasano, etc.) He can block. He can run. And he can catch. He is athletically gifted enough to travel with the Harlem Globetrotters in the off season, but won’t because he hates Scooby-Doo, and has never forgiven the team for allowing their animated countenances on the show. Basically he is in the same mold as Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Shannon Sharpe. Weis loves tight ends, and Rudolph will get to showcase his skills to the NFL for 3 more years. That’s enough to sneak into a late 1st round pick.

Darrin Walls.

He needs to have 2 big years, but this man will be the best Irish cover corner since Bobby Taylor. He is smooth like Smokey Robinson on the field, and doesn’t give receivers an inch. He has speed, acceleration, is able to change directions, and has ball skills. He also has decent size for a corner (6′0, 180). He has all around ability to the extent that he will be considered for kick returns, and could probably play both sides a la Charles Woodson. He is a guy that can be left in man to man coverage without worry. He has the tools to be a mid-to-late 1st round pick.

Ethan Johnson.

This is based on glimpses, but Ethan is strong enough to play inside and quick enough to play outside on the defensive line. He is a walking mismatch for for offensive lineman. Think of him as either a quicker Victor Abiamari, or a bigger and stronger Justin Tuck. He can bring the pass rush right up the middle through the guards, and can either run by or through offensive tackles. He is explosive, and has more potential than the players mentioned above. It all equals a 1st round pick somewhere in the 20’s to me.

Robert Blanton.

The man that already thinks he’s a first round draft pick. He displays the swagger needed to go up and lock down #1 receivers. He is just a ball player, I don’t know what his 40 time or his vertical is, but he can play. Notre Dame fielded a better defense when they let this frosh play over senior speed demon Terrail Lambert. At 6′1, he has the size to go against bigger receivers, but is quick enough to play against the dwarfs as well. All in all, Blanton dispalayed as much talent as any freshman corner I’ve seen at Notre Dame, and he will get even better as the years go on. Which means he has the potential to be drafted in the late first round.

Final Note.

The Irish have some other players with potential, but they have not shown enough (or any) evidence to be considered yet. (Darius Fleming, Steve Filer, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Harrison Smith.)

The first 7 are the chosen ones that will show Notre Dame has elite players once again. Do you think I am seeing greatness in the right guys? Or are there other Notre Dame players you can see in the first round? Let me know.