Obstacles Overcome by Ohio State Wide Receiver Carnell Tate a Testament to His Character, Maturity and Potential for Greatness

Many players keep their deepest thoughts and emotions hidden from the media. Many people, in general, are introverts, including some of the most intelligent among us. And make no mistake, the Academic All-American Tate is one of the NFL draft’s most intelligent players on and off the field. 

And he doesn’t need many words to articulate what Thursday night will mean to him.

“(I’ve) visualized it ever since I've gotten older,” Tate told Eleven Warriors ahead of the NFL draft on Wednesday. “Since high school, I've visualized me being in the draft and being able to be here.”

Tate doesn’t need a slew of speeches to spin a story about himself. He is the story. The beauty of sports is its mimicry of life, its hardships, its obstacles, but for a man barely older than 20, Tate’s already conquered larger hardships and obstacles than some face their entire lifetime to excel at his sport and beyond.

Thursday night’s first round of the NFL draft is a testament to that. Though Tate knows the work kicks into overdrive after the draft.

“It's exciting,” Tate said. “But I've got to look at everything. So I’ve been nervous. I've been through hell and back to be here, and now I'm here. So now it's the next step of my journey.”

Speaking of articulation, ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill did an astounding job chronicling Tate’s journey, gaining insight from loved ones and teammates and coaches on his journey and how his late mother, Ashley Griggs, shaped who he is before and after her tragic death in July 2023. Former Ohio State teammate and now Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard told Merrill that Tate doesn’t let on how smart he is – “but he’s brilliant.” But high school and college teammate Nolan Baudo, still a walk-on receiver for the Buckeyes, probably summed up Tate’s personality best.

“He's super welcoming, and not super outgoing,” Baudo told Merrill.

Everyone learns the classic storytelling line graph from their high school English classes: Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. There are other ways to think about story structure, though. A simpler one is a hero overcoming obstacles to achieve greatness.

The first obstacle Tate faced was circumstance. He had a great support system around him to lift him toward his goals. That doesn’t change the fact that he grew up in West Garfield Park in Chicago. It has one of the highest murder rates among the city’s 77 neighborhoods. 42% of households in West Garfield live below the poverty line.

The second and much greater obstacle came with the passing of his mother. She passed many of the traits that make Tate great to him before the senseless drive-by shooting that took her life.

“She was my best friend, mom and everything, all in one,” Tate told BTN’s The Journey in November 2024.

Dontrell Jackson, Tate’s high school receiving coach at Chicago’s Marist High School, where Tate played his first two years at the prep level alongside Baudo, recounted a story to Merrill where he picked up Tate to go throw and catch some footballs. Jackson wanted to use a turf field near Tate’s house.

"Coach, we can't go right there," Tate told him. "People just drive by and shoot at us for no reason."

When faced with violence, obstacles or the loss of loved ones – Tate, of course, faced all three – the hard truth is that a young person either matures quickly or drowns from stress, grief and self-loathing. By the very nature of his story, achievements and the place he’s arrived at to be the top receiver prospect in the 2026 NFL draft, Tate is among the most mature 20 or 21-year-olds in the country. He had to be. It’s one of the things that makes him such an elite prospect.

Tate’s route-running precision and refined catching skills led him to rack up 51 receptions for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in just 11 games despite playing alongside Jeremiah Smith in 2025. He landed first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American honors. 

“It was easy to see he's got himself in great shape and how fast he's moving,” Ryan Day said at Ohio State’s pro day on March 25. “How fluid he is and effortless he is, moving in and out of breaks, catching the ball, and that was on film. So he's a guy who is gonna be a number one wide receiver for some organization and somebody that has done it at a high level. And he's smooth, he's physical, and he's gonna be a guy that certainly can have an impact day one walking into a team.”

Tate has a lot of family on hand in Pittsburgh to celebrate his accomplishments. His father, his father’s fiancée, two aunts, grandmother, two best friends, his mentor and former Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline will all be surrounding Tate when he hears his name called, likely in the first 10 picks.

Great obstacles force young people to mature quickly if they are to survive. Carnell Tate chose to thrive in all areas of his life. And, frankly, it doesn’t take a lot of words to express that. His actions have shouted it from the mountaintops. And even the few words he chose on Wednesday.

“It's a lot,” Tate said. “It's every emotion in my body that I've been through.”