Three underclassmen who will impact the Ohio State football team

2. Carnell Tate

Someone else in the receiver room is going to have a massive impact on this team moving forward. That is Carnell Tate. Tate was a big-time recruit in the 2023 class and got a decent amount of playing time as a true freshman. He definitely got more playing time than I thought he was going to last Spring.

Tate finished the season with 18 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown. Even though he wasn't a massive factor in any game last season, he saw the field a lot. When he did get the ball thrown his way, he showed some skills beyond his years.

Now, Tate moves into the second receiver role. It's him and Emeka Egbuka at the top of the receiver chain. Egbuka is going to get a ton of attention because he's a proven commodity. Teams know what kind of weapon he is. They don't know about Tate yet.

That's going to give Tate a lot of one-on-one opportunities over the course of the year. He has to take advantage of those opportunities when he gets them. Once he starts to become a weapon, teams can't double-team Egbuka anymore and that opens up opportunities for him as well.

Heading into next season, Tate isn't getting a lot of press. That's because Ohio State football fans and coaches know how good he is. They know what he's going to bring next season as a starter. More hype has been reserved for less-proven players who have flashed athleticism.

The final player on this list started last year and is in a fight for a starting spot this season.