Carnell Tate had 39 catches for 711 yards and seven touchdowns in Ohio State’s first eight games. Then, an injury before the Purdue game threw his career-best season off course.
“I had a little bump in the road, but then cleared that bump and now I’m rolling,” Tate told Eleven Warriors, declining to share the specifics of his injury. “I just didn’t feel like myself. I felt a little something. And when you feel a little something, you know your body, you know you can’t go. So I decided, me and the trainer decided, it was best for me to sit and now I’m feeling good.”
Tate, who missed the Buckeyes' matchups against Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers, said he returned to full strength after Ohio State beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver had four catches for 45 yards and one score against the Wolverines. His touchdown included a Paul Bunyan celebration that Ohio State’s creative team edited to include Gold Pants in the team’s scoreboard post.
HARDWARE SECURED. pic.twitter.com/QeOZxBckUs
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 29, 2025
Indiana held Tate to a quiet four catches and 45 receiving yards in the Big Ten Championship Game. Tate said he and his teammates learned from the loss, with the biggest lesson being that they need to score more than 10 points to win matchup games.
Now that he’s healthy and rested, Tate said he’s excited to put on a show in the College Football Playoff.
“It could possibly be my last CFP run here, so I’ll just go out there and try to go win it all for two times in a row,” Tate said.
Yet to decide if he’ll enter the NFL draft as a potential top-10 pick, Tate removed his try and said the Buckeyes know they’re going to win back-to-back national championships.
“We know we’re going to win it all,” he said.
Tate said Julian Sayin gives him confidence as Ohio State enters the CFP. He said Sayin could have a similar emergence as Will Howard in last year’s playoff.
“Julian’s been the same guy all year, whether it’s win or loss,” Tate said. “No matter what, who the competition is, he’s been an elite passer, elite quarterback for us and an elite game manager.”
Tate thinks Jeremiah Smith is in for a similar breakout, especially against his hometown Miami Hurricanes.
“He wants to win every game, but this game is just, it just means a lot to him,” Tate said. “From his crib, his hometown. So yeah, it means a lot to him.”
