COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Of the many lessons to take from Ohio State’s win over Minnesota, and from where Ohio State sits in the landscape of college football hierarchy on a day of upsets, wide receiver Carnell Tate was the rock of stability.
If you’d never seen an Ohio State game before, and only knew that one of the Buckeyes was the nation’s best receiver, it was reasonable that you’d have left presuming that it was No. 17 wearing the home scarlet.
Tate was targeted 10 times. He had nine catches for 183 yards with a score and routinely found himself behind the Minnesota defense whenever it was needed. He also didn’t _need_ to be behind the Gopher defense, as he ran around and right through the middle of that group all night.
It was a fun reminder for Buckeye fans that Ohio State, once again, has a receiver that will be a first-round pick despite never having been the top wideout on his own team. For just about every _other_ team in college football, Tate would be the No. 1 wideout.
Jeremiah Smith, who had a great day on his own, did nothing to take away from his reputation as the top receiver off the board, and potentially the top non-quarterback off the board in the 2027 NFL Draft. But Tate’s presence on the Buckeyes’ offense takes the unit to a completely different level.
And, frankly, it’s not unreasonable to suggest he’s just as important to the success of this offense as Smith is.
While defenses can get creative and throw double coverages at Smith every which way their coordinator can think, that leaves Tate one-on-one, or at least without that level of attention. Those are matchups he’s going to win against essentially every defensive back in college football.
After two years as a depth player and third receiver, when Tate totaled 70 catches, 997 yards receiving and five touchdowns, he’s well on his way to beating those numbers in what certainly will be his last season in Columbus.
At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, he’s got the requisite size and physicality to play as a No. 1 receiver in the NFL, even if that’s something he’s never done before. He is elite at high-pointing and catching deep passes, and as he showcased against Minnesota, has elite footwork along the sidelines to bring in passes.
With Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Smith all on the team during his Ohio State career, he simply never had the chance to be that go-to target. But that doesn’t mean he can’t do it.
The same held true for Egbuka, who ended up as the No. 19 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and has four touchdowns in four games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s possible, if not likely, that Tate follows a similar path.
Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Makai Lemon (USC), Denzel Boston (Washington) and Antonio Williams (Clemson) will certainly have a case to be some of the top drafted receivers in the class as well. The draft class is also becoming more and more talented seemingly by the week.
But Tate stands above the rest. He’s an elite playmaker on an offense that doesn’t have a shortage of talent, standing out when it would be reasonable not to.
And on Saturday night he proved, once again, that he should be the first receiver to hear his name called in May’s NFL Draft.
For Ohio State, it should never lose sight of how rare that is.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our [User Agreement](https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/user-agreement.html) and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our [Privacy Policy.](https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/privacy-policy.html)