Carnell Tate commits to Ohio State over Tennessee

A tough loss for Tennessee.

Five-star receiver Carnell Tate has made his decision. Tennessee came hard after the IMG Academy product hard over the last few months, but they ultimately will come up short. Tate committed to Ohio State on Monday, joining a ridiculous NFL pipeline in Columbus.

Tate made his announcement late this afternoon.

Tennessee hosted Tate several times and was in the thick of the battle after landing five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. In fact, there was a time not so long ago where the Volunteers were even thought of as the favorite here, but Ohio State closed strong and held the momentum over the last couple of weeks.

Tate is from Chicago and transferred to IMG Academy ahead of his junior season. He is the 28th ranked player in the country, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Of course, in this new era of college football, NIL played a factor. John Brice went deeper on that in a report for WBIR Sports.

Tennessee came out on the other side of the NIL equation with the Nico Iamaleava commitment — today they lose out to Ohio State.

It’s worth wondering here if Tennessee’s change at receivers coach played any role. The Vols lost Kodi Burns to the Saints and promoted Kelsey Pope to replace him earlier in the offseason. Ohio State, on the other hand, has a budding star in Brian Hartline coaching the position.

The Volunteers are still coming after Devin Hyatt, the younger brother of Jalin, who also plays at the IMG Academy. JUCO product Malik Benson is another name to know in the 2023 cycle.

Tennessee pulled four receivers in the class of 2022 and currently have one commitment (three-star Nate Spillman) at the position in the current class. While it’s not the biggest need, getting to the finish line and losing out late for a player of Tate’s caliber certainly does sting.