What we learned from seeing Notre Dame TE commit Jack Larsen in wild contest

Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic improved to 4-1 Thursday night with a wild 29-22 victory over Charlotte (N.C.) Providence (2-2), and it couldn’t have pulled off the victory without Notre Dame class of 2024 tight end commit Jack Larsen.

He was targeted about a dozen times and hauled in six receptions for around 80 yards or so. And in third-down situations, Larsen came onto the field as a defensive end for the Cougars’ defense and made two key plays in the game

In the first half, Larsen had a sack that resulted in Providence’s quarterback (more on him shortly) fumbling the ball and setting up a Catholic score. On the other key pressure play, Larsen hit the quarterback, resulting in an interception. And on the ensuing play at his tight end position, Larsen caught a corner route that went for around 20 yards.

After a scoreless third quarter, Catholic held a 17-14 lead, when Providence’s punter couldn’t handle a snap, and the play resulted in a safety. Catholic kicked a field goal with the ensuing possession to take a 22-14 lead.

Providence quarterback and class of 2026 recruit Jackson Debe bombed away a pass down the right sideline that went for a touchdown. He ran the two-point conversion to tie the game at 22-22.

Catholic utilizes a run-heavy offense; a hurry-up type drive doesn’t play into its strength. However, Larsen caught three passes on the game-winning drive.

The first was a slant for eight yards. The second was also on a slant, and Larsen broke a couple tackles to run for about a 20-yard gain. Providence put a linebacker over Larsen to press him with a cornerback about eight yards back, but that didn’t matter, as Larsen got right past the linebacker to catch — you guessed it — another slant for a positive pickup for his third reception on the drive.

Larsen’s squad later punched in a run to go up 29-22 and seal the victory with less than a minute left in the contest.

“I thought I had a solid performance,” Larsen told Blue & Gold after the game. “We have to work on some things, but we played well. We got the momentum at the end of the game, and our team really came together.”

Jack Larsen put in a tremendous effort on the evening. He could’ve had a few more receptions if it weren’t for mistargeted passes, but with Providence stacking the box, Larsen consistently had one-on-one matchups (except for the several occasions where a linebacker was lined up over him to chip him) and was getting open with ease. At times, he was split out to match up against the opposing team’s best cornerback and showed off his skill at receiver.

Larsen caught a couple seam passes and a corner route when he had his hand in the dirt. The Irish pledge blocked well on the night, too. He’s more than willing to be physical on the line of scrimmage.

He’s not the tallest tight end at 6-3, but he noted after the game that he’s weighing in at 235 pounds. He can be a versatile tight end for Notre Dame ‚ able to move around in an H-back role and be split out as a slot receiver. Larsen has very soft hands and a superb catch radius, which includes being able to catch balls near his feet without him needing to drop his body to the ground.

Listed as the No. 468 overall player and No. 31 tight end per the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking, Larsen hasn’t had much fanfare since committing to the Irish last summer, and his ranking has dropped across the board. But don’t get it twisted — Larsen has impressive tools as an offensive weapon.

And other schools have stayed in contact with Larsen despite him being very solid with the Irish. He told Blue & Gold that he’s not entertaining other schools, but with how big-time of a talent he is, Southern schools are hoping he changes his mind.

In all honesty, I wasn’t aware that the opposing team for Jack Larsen on the night had a Power Five-caliber quarterback on its roster. But after a few series, I became impressed with sophomore quarterback Jackson Debe, who has scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Boston College, Liberty and others. He looks to be a legit 6-3 and is lean with good movement skills and a quick release.

Debe threw three interceptions as he was getting battered around all night, but overall, it was hard not to be impressed with him given the context of the game. Debe’s offensive line was overpowered all night.

It would not come as a surprise to see Notre Dame show interest in Debe.

The post What we learned from seeing Notre Dame TE commit Jack Larsen in wild contest appeared first on On3.