The Call: Go Inside Every Ohio State NFL Draft Pick’s Moment

By 11W Staff on April 26, 2026 at 1:35 pm
Tennessee's front office calls Carnell Tate to let him know he's going fourth in the 2026 NFL Draft.
@Titans / X
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The picks get announced on TV. The highlights get clipped and looped. And then the fans and pundits go to work, with takes ranging from genuinely insightful to outright nonsense.

But the moment that actually matters? It’s the call.

For every player taken in the NFL Draft, there’s a phone that rings, sometimes backstage in the green room, other times in a crowded living room, and everything they’ve worked for gets delivered in a few words on the other end. They’re raw, they’re emotional, and they’re about as real as it gets in a weekend that sometimes feels anything but.

Ohio State had 11 players hear their name called this weekend. Here’s what it looked like the call came in.

Carnell Tate — Round 1, Pick 4 (Tennessee Titans)

Arvell Reese — Round 1, Pick 5 (New York Giants)

Sonny Styles — Round 1, Pick 7 (Washington Commanders)

Caleb Downs — Round 1, Pick 11 (Dallas Cowboys)

Kayden McDonald — Round 2, Pick 36 (Houston Texans)

Bonus: This call between McDonald and his nephew is too good not to fit into this piece.

Max Klare — Round 2, Pick 61 (Los Angeles Rams)

Davison Igbinosun — Round 2, Pick 62 (Buffalo Bills)

Will Kacmarek — Round 3, Pick 87 (Miami Dolphins)

Lorenzo Styles Jr. — Round 5, Pick 172 (New Orleans Saints)

Caden Curry — Round 6, Pick 214 (Indianapolis Colts)

Ethan Onianwa — Round 7, Pick 231 (Atlanta Falcons)

The Falcons haven't released footage of their call to Onianwa, so please enjoy Liam McCullough's excitement at having another Buckeye in Atlanta.

There’s a lot that goes into getting drafted: years of work, a few well-timed breaks, and a process that can test just about anyone’s patience.

But it all comes down to that phone call.

For these Buckeyes, that call came this weekend, and with it, the start of whatever comes next.

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