“I feel like I'm more comfortable (leading),” Tate said on April 8. “Usually I'm just not talking, I just let my game play, but I know sometimes you gotta be vocal to pick other guys up and it's just not always about me.”
“I think he’s pulled guys aside and had one-on-one conversations with them,” offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline said on April 7. “He’s locked in. I think he saw the impact that Emeka made and the role he played, and to think that you’re gonna lose that (leadership) and be a better group, that math probably doesn’t make sense to him. So someone’s gotta step up in that role.”
“I would say Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss probably have done the most outspoken (leading) in the room,” Hartline said. “I would say that they’re doing a good job. Those are probably the two guys that would jump out in my room.”
Tate might have been the Buckeyes’ No. 3 wide receiver in 2024, but plenty of teams would have paid handsomely to get a No. 1 option as dynamic as the Chicago native. As much is evidenced by the fact that he was reportedly offered more than $1 million to enter the transfer portal this offseason. He collected 52 receptions for 733 yards and four touchdowns while supporting Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith.
The highlight of Tate’s sophomore campaign – outside the Buckeyes’ CFP run, anyway – was a two-touchdown outing at Wrigley Field before 30 or 40 hometown friends and family in a 31-7 win over Northwestern.
“It was very special,” Tate said. “Being back home, hometown. That was my first time playing back there since high school. So it was a lot to me, being in Chicago. And also, just getting there for my family.”
