Ohio State wide receiver carnell tate Sources told ESPN on Tuesday that he is leaving school early and declaring for the NFL Draft.
Tate is projected as a top-10 pick in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s current rankings, the latest in a gold rush of high-end Buckeye receivers. Tate caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns for Ohio State this year.
He did so in 11 games, as he missed three games due to injury. He continued to dominate throughout the year, as he had 183 yards receiving against Minnesota, five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown against Michigan, and 124 yards and a touchdown against Penn State.
Tate, who is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, finished his three-year career with 1,872 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. In a program loaded with the game’s top wide receiver prospects, he played in 13 games as a true newcomer and displayed star power as a sophomore with 52 catches for 733 yards on Ohio State’s national title-winning team.
Tate’s sophomore year included seven catches for 87 yards against Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
He projects as the latest OSU first-round receiver; Over the past four years, there have been five first-rounders. Ohio State race includes both Garrett Wilson And Chris Olave In 2022, Jackson Smith-Njigba In 2023, Marvin Harrison Jr.in 2024 and emeka egbuka Last year.
Last year, OSU was the first team in the common draft era to select a wide receiver in the first round in four consecutive years. Tate plans to build on that unprecedented period.
A veteran NFL scout described Tate to ESPN this way: “He’s very instinctive, fast and a good athlete. His hands and ball skills are good, because he reminds me of Pro Bowl receiver Chris Chambers, but a longer version, coming out of college.”
