Jr National Teamer Tate Jackson De-Commits From Notre Dame, Signs With Texas Longhorns

SwimSwam’s 20th ranked recruit from the class of 2015, and a one of the top sprint recruits in the country, Tate Jackson, has officially de-committed from Notre Dame and signed with the University of Texas. He was tabbed as the 20th best recruit in the country with his times from his junior year, but now he is arguably one of the top five recruits in the country.

In yards, Jackson has bests of 19.91 and 43.62 in the 50 and 100 free, plus a 48.59 in the 100 fly. He is one of the fews sub-20 second sprinters out of high school, which so far is much rarer in the class of 2015 than it was in the class of 2014.

Jackson swims for Nitro Swimming and currently lives in Austin, Texas. Notre Dame confirmed in a press release earlier this year that Tate Jackson did sign his national letter of intent with Notre Dame during the early signing period. His older brother, Trent, currently swims for the Irish.

This is a big loss for the University of Notre Dame. Head Coach Matt Tallman is bringing in one of the most talented freshman classes in program history, and it still will be even without Jackson, but he is still a big loss for their program. It is rare for swimmers to de-commit and sign somewhere else, but it does happen. Hanna House is a name that comes to mind; she de-committed from Notre Dame and signed with Duke almost a year ago. 

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nitroswimmer
8 years ago

I have had the privledge to watch him practice and race; such an inspring thing. Congrats Tate!

SwimFan
8 years ago

OK. How about that Vince Young Wonderlic score

PAC12BACKER
8 years ago

Academics and University pedigree aside, it was a very very good move for him on a swimming basis. Dyer was ND’s only notable swimmer in the past 20 years.

SwimFan
8 years ago

I have to laugh comparing admission to Texas and Notre Dame. Doubt Ricky Williams was accepted at Notre Dame

Admin
Reply to  SwimFan
8 years ago

SwimFan – Ricky Williams was an honor roll student and a member of the San Diego Union-Tribune All-Academic team. While at Texas he was on the Texas Athletic Director’s Honor Roll while at Texas.

CATTLECALL
Reply to  Braden Keith
8 years ago

To reiterate: ND is ranked LOWER than Texas in EVERY undergraduate discipline including where Texas has major advantages in schools of Business, Computer Science, and all Engineering disciplines (Texas ranked #8, #8, and #10 in the nation respectively – US News & World Report), Jackson is arguably stepping up as far as undergrad education is concerned.

CA Sunshine
Reply to  CATTLECALL
8 years ago

Cattlecall, I’ll stipulate that your rankings are accurate – that doesn’t mean that Texas is harder (or easier) to gain admission to than another school. Those are different metrics entirely, ones with which I will admit to having no familiarity. Point being – I think you’re arguing an entirely different point with these stats of the ranking each of their majors & disciplines.

Suffice to say they’re BOTH good schools, and glad this young man was able to make the choice he ultimately wanted for whatever the reason might have been. Stinks for ND, but surely they will move on and continue their efforts in advancing their swim program.

COLLEGE ENTHUSIAST
Reply to  CATTLECALL
8 years ago

It is complete nonsense to say that Texas is harder to get into than Notre Dame. The business school has been ranked first in the nation for five years consecutive according to Bloomberg Businessweek (pretty reliable source). And it is not like Notre Dame’s other degrees are worthless.

BPC2032
Reply to  CATTLECALL
8 years ago

Sorry Cattlecall, you’re just making stuff up here. ND’s undergrad business school is consistently ranked #1 in the country and US News ranks ND as 16th overall and Texas as 53rd. Texas is a good school but Notre Dame is a much better one. Now, if we’re talking about swimming programs only, that’s a much different conversation.

Max
8 years ago

He’s my friends brother

SWIM FAN
8 years ago

Such a shame when people who commit and even sign a NLI break that commitment. Letting down the team, coaches, and the university.. I understand it may be the best decision for that individual though. Congrats Tate

Dan
Reply to  SWIM FAN
8 years ago

I think it’s more important to remember that these athletes are 17-18 years old, and maybe aren’t quite ready to make a decision that will impact the rest of their life. All parties benefit from not forcing someone into a situation that is not what they want.

Wethorn
8 years ago

Let’s not assume that he didn’t get into ND. Maybe the coaches both agreed to allow it. Or maybe he’s technically walking on (he is from Austin) and hence bypasses some of the LOI restrictions?

CT Swim Fan
8 years ago

And the rich get richer.

About Tony Carroll

Tony Carroll

The writer formerly known as "Troy Gennaro", better known as Tony Carroll, has been working with SwimSwam since April of 2013. Tony grew up in northern Indiana and started swimming in 2003 when his dad forced him to join the local swim team. Reluctantly, he joined on the condition that …

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