College football: Ohio State's Carnell Tate becomes receiver everyone knew he could be

COLUMBUS — Carnell Tate is an overnight sensation — three years in the making — for top-ranked Ohio State. The Chicago native arrived in Columbus in January 2023 after finishing high school at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was a five-star receiver prospect, per 247Sports, but what else is new? Brian Hartline has made a habit of signing those since he became the full-time receivers coach at his alma mater in 2019. That means one typically does not just show up at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and expect to start, but Hartline has shown a willingness to reward those who put in the work with playing time, no matter their age. Tate impressed the coaching staff enough to be part of the rotation as a true freshman, and he caught 18 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown in 2023, while Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. grabbed most of the headlines. When Harrison entered the 2024 NFL Draft, Tate looked to be next in line to become a star receiver for the Buckeyes. But, Jeremiah Smith bucked the aforementioned trend and became an instant starter as a true freshman last fall opposite Egbuka. While Smith became the go-to receiver for the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff, Tate still made the most of his opportunities, catching 52 passes for 733 yards and four touchdowns as the third receiver for the national champions. Although Egbuka has moved on to the NFL, where he has made a big impact with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Smith is still grabbing more headlines and attention from defenses trying to stop Ohio State. They can't ignore Tate anymore, though. Just ask Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck, who watched Tate torch his defense for a career-high 183 yards on nine catches Oct. 4. "They're really big, really powerful, and then they force you to put more people in the box and they throw it over the top with two first-round draft picks," Fleck said after his Golden Gophers lost 42-3 at Ohio Stadium. "I mean, you're picking your poison." A week later, Illinois did not make the same mistake as Minnesota. The Fighting Illini played back in soft zones to try to contain both Smith and Tate, a plan that prevented big plays, but lost much of its chance to work when the Fighting Illini offense committed three turnovers in their own territory. If catching only four passes for 41 yards bothered Tate after his breakout game, he didn't show it this week. "It's football. You're gonna have your big games, you're gonna have your bad games," Tate said Wednesday. "You've gotta stay levelheaded. Everyone's due for a big game, and that was my big game. So I'm due for another one, so I've gotta keep going." Day has called Smith the best offensive player in college football, but he is quick to praise Tate for all he does, even if passes aren't coming his way. "Carnell has done a lot of the dirty work that's allowed some of the other guys on offense to have success, and then vice versa," Day said last week. "When Jeremiah dictates coverage, or as a decoy and a play to open up something for Carnell, that's winning football. And that's going to be the key moving forward." Tate, who is seventh in the Big Ten with 476 receiving yards, is on board with that. "At the end of the day, you've gotta go out there and play," said Tate, who is two catches away from 100 for his career and needs 27 receiving yards to reach 1,500. "You can't put bad things on film. You can't let the game affect you emotionally, and then if the ball's not coming your way, that's a conversation you have after the game or whatever time that may be. Sometimes it's like that. Games don't always come to you."