The Ohio State football program was supposed to contend for back-to-back national championships. Instead, the offense faltered in the final two games of the season. The Buckeyes failed to score a single point in the first half of the Cotton Bowl, and that resulted in a 24-14 loss to Miami.
Ohio State failed to score enough points despite having two of the best receivers in the country. Jeremiah Smith might be the best overall player in the country. Carnell Tate showed that he has the chance to be a top-ten pick in the draft, although he didn't have a strong showing against the Hurricanes.
Tate has now decided to enter the 2026 NFL Draft to see if he can be a top-ten draft pick. He's not the only receiver who has decided his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes is over. Quincy Porter, a former five-star recruit, has also decided to leave the program.
The Ohio State football team loses two more receivers
Porter has decided to enter the Transfer Portal after an injury-plagued season with the Buckeyes. He was expected to fight for some playing time as the third or fourth receiver on the depth chart. Instead, he will look to go somewhere else now that Brian Hartline is in Tampa.
Losing Tate was expected. He's an excellent player who will make one NFL team very happy for years to come. Losing Porter was not expected, and this one stings. Losing two former five-star receiver recruits in the span of a few days to the portal is not what Ryan Day wanted to see.
Porter's leaving might be the most consequential portal entry that the Buckeyes have had so far. That means that three receivers have left for the portal, and four total are gone from this year's roster. Day needs to get a receiver from the portal quickly if he wants Julian Sayin to keep improving.
Tate is going to be a recruiting piece for the Buckeyes for years to come. He should step into the NFL and put up good numbers almost right away. As for Porter, he needs to prove he can stay healthy before his new program is happy with his production.