‘Tis the offseason for Ohio State football, and that means that there is plenty of player movement and updates that are coming at breakneck speed. We’ve brought you plenty of transfer portal moves already, but we are also keeping an eye on those players who have decisions to make with their NFL future.
One of those players is star wide receiver Carnell Tate. Many have thought it a foregone conclusion that Tate would enter the NFL draft a year early after the year that he had alongside Jeremiah Smith, and on Tuesday, the Chicago native made that official, announcing his plans to forego his senior season in Columbus and enter the 2026 NFL draft.
Tate was a dangerous weapon at Ohio State — and it could be argued — just as important to the offense as Smith, who gets a ton more publicity. The IMG product finished the 2025 season with 51 catches for 875 yards (17.2 avg.) and nine touchdowns. The numbers could have been much more impressive, but he missed some time at the tail end of the year because of injury.
Though the news was expected, Ohio State will now have to replace a starter in the receiver room. It is expected that Smith and Brandon Inniss will occupy two of those spots as returning starters, but a couple of other returning depth pieces that may have been in line to occupy Tate’s spot have decided to dance with the transfer portal (Bryson Rodgers, Mylan Graham, and Quincy Porter). That means incoming 5-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. may get the first look, but look for the Buckeyes to be very active in the portal to bring in that third dynamic piece.
We’ll provide more updates when available.
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