Carnell Tate Credits Ohio State Path While Calling Jaxon Smith-Njigba NFL’s Best Receiver

Carnell Tate didn’t need much time to think about it.

When asked to name the best receiver in the NFL, the former Ohio State wideout went straight to a familiar answer, one that says as much about his belief in the Buckeyes’ pipeline as it does about his own path to the league.

“JSN...Jaxon Smith-Njigba,” Tate said while appearing at the NFL Draft prospects clinic.

It makes so much sense. For Tate, the climb to the NFL Draft has always been tied to the standard set before him. and the expectation that Ohio State receivers don’t just make it to the league, they thrive once they get there.

“It’s a blessing to be able to continue that long line of success and those guys who paved the road ahead of me,” Tate said. “So it’s my time to pave the road for the next guy.”

That perspective has been building for years. Tate said he first started visualizing this moment back in high school, believing he could one day hear his name called on draft night. Now that he’s here, the emotions are layered.

“It’s exciting…I got a little bit of everything, excitement, nerves,” Tate said. “I mean I’ve been through hell and back to be here and I’m here, so now it’s just like the next step of my journey.”

That journey, he made clear, didn’t happen alone.

Tate said his draft room would be filled with family, mentors and close friends, including his sister, father, two aunts, grandmother, his dad’s fiancée, his mentor, two best friends and former Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline, now South Florida’s head coach.

“They helped me get to this point every step of the way,” Tate said.

Hartline’s influence, in particular, remains central to how Tate sees the game as he transitions to the next level.

“Just about details bro,” Tate said. “You know what I’m saying, details. The little things he gets to you with.”

Those details, the same ones that have defined Ohio State’s wide receiver room for years are part of what gives Tate confidence heading into the NFL. Watching players like Smith-Njigba succeed only reinforces that belief.

“It just speaks for what the program has done to those guys, for those guys, and how it’s set them up for success at the next level,” Tate said.

Tate also said one of the biggest lessons from the pre-draft process has been learning how to block out everything that comes with it.

“You got to stay true to yourself,” Tate said. “Can’t let the outside noise get to you and affect you.”

Now, with draft just hours away, Tate isn’t trying to control what happens next. He knows that part is out of his hands.

What he can control is what comes after.

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