Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Carnell Tate continues to dominate on his way to the NFL Draft

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Dominic Pagura | Last updated Oct 19, 2025 6:44 AM ET

The Buckeyes could be on the verge of producing one of the next big wide receiver prospects ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are widely debated as college football’s, “wide receiver university”, as their resume proves they can develop their players into highly scouted prospects each year. When it comes to their current receiver room, aside from phenom Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate continues to make his case as a potential first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Tate has been a focal point of Ohio State’s offense all season, giving sophomore superstar quarterback Julian Sayin another incredible option down field to trust in making big plays. Tate has done just that even on an offense that has run the ball significantly more than they have thrown it.

Tate’s season statistics slot him behind Smith in receiving yards by a small margin of 29-yards and has four total touchdowns on the season. Sayin and Tate have connected on 28 of 34 passes for 476-yards, which gives Tate the unanimous number two position in the Buckeyes talented wide receiver room.

The third-year receiver has been putting on a show whenever his number is called. His recent showing against Wisconsin on Saturday resulted in this incredible touchdown catch.

YOU CANNOT COVER CARNELL TATE.

TOUCHDOWN BUCKEYES pic.twitter.com/WznkZRNToC
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 18, 2025

Carnell Tate was responsible for 111-yards on six catches, hauling in two receiving touchdowns to give the Buckeyes a big shut out win over a conference foe in Wisconsin.

After Ohio State’s dominant 34-0 win on Saturday, they currently sit atop the Big Ten conference undefeated at 6-0 and remain the number one ranked team in the country. With high hopes of competing for and defending their national championship, their offense will need to continue its electric first half of the season the rest of the way.

Having not one, but two incredibly talented wideouts definitely boosts Ohio State’s likeliness of running the gauntlet in the College Football Playoffs, and having an evenly balanced rushing and passing attack could continue to give defenses problems. Ohio State doesn’t face another ranked opponent as of now for the rest of the 2025 regular season.

Carnell Tate already has an impressive stat line, but another important statistic to consider is that of those 28 catches on 34 attempts, those missed attempts by Sayin weren’t within Tate's reach. Tate has zero dropped passes this season, meaning any throw put in his reaches has a perfect success rate of being caught.

This solidifies Tate’s reliability as one of their premier options on offense and only strengthens his case to be one of the first wide receivers selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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