Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns Pushed For Ohio State's Carnell Tate To Transfer?

After winning the 2024-25 College Football National Championship against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday, January 20th, the Ohio State Buckeyes are doing their best to retain a majority of their eligible players. With the season ending after their seventh title win, the athletes for the Buckeyes (and Fighting Irish) have five days to decide to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

According to Ohio State recruiting expert for Rivals and podcast host Jeremy Birmingham, the Oregon Ducks and Texas Longhorns were quick to attempt to recruit sophomore wide receiver Carnell Tate to transfer. Tate announced on Friday, January 24th that he would be staying with the Buckeyes, despite several rumored offers of high NIL offers from other programs.

"And we've seen schools... Oregon, Texas, et cetera, going after players like Carnell Tate. And I don't generally want to name names here, but that is something that is out in the ether, so I figure we can discuss it," Birmingham said on "THE Podcast."

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Birmingham argued that Tate's decision to stay with Ohio State is a reflection of the eventual "evening out" of NIL offers compared to the program fit for specific athletes.

"It will balance out to the point where everyone is paying this amount. And then the things that used to matter, the relationships, the coaching, the development, those things will matter again," Birmingham continued. "Because you can get the same money pretty much anywhere, but right now, that's just not the case. "

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In the 2025 season with the Buckeyes, Tate picked up 733 yards and four touchdowns off 52 receptions. He broke 100 yards once this season against Nebraska off 4 connections. Against Oregon in Ohio State's 41-21 Rose Bowl beatdown of the Ducks, Tate didn't see much action with only one catch for 10 yards. Looking forward, Tate will be essential to the Buckeyes' young receiver room with true freshman Jeremiah Smith.

Rumors surrounding Tate's recruitment by Oregon sparked up when Duck quarterback Dante Moore posted a cryptic Instagram story of one of Tate's posts on Thursday, January 23rd.

Dante Moore’s IG story 🤔 pic.twitter.com/jovz53xvpK
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) January 23, 2025

It's also worth noting that Tate's partner, Kate Fuetterer, is a red-shirt junior forward for the Oregon Ducks' Women's Soccer Team, which many fans online pointed as another reason the talented receiver should consider a move to the Ducks.

However, Tate doubled down on his return to the Buckeyes, with Tate retweeting a photo of himself after winning the National Championship the Buckeyes Football account posted as well as replying to posts on "X" (formerly Twitter), confirming his allegiance to Ohio State.

Always 17.
— Carnell Tate (@carnelltate_) January 25, 2025

It's worth noting that Oregon's recruitment of Tate has not been confirmed by official outlets, and has simply been rumored. However, with Oregon bringing in ten transfers from the portal with seven of those transfers being four-star recruits and highly anticipated players for the upcoming season, it's not shocking that the Ducks would be accused of trying to lure in more top talent.

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