Carnell Tate did not come to the Scouting Combine wondering about the identity of the best wide receiver in this year’s class.
Tate caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns for Ohio State during the 2025 season and he said at his press conference in Indianapolis that he believes he is the best wideout available to teams this year. He then explained what things about his game leave him feeling that is the case.
“Everything. The catching, the route running, the blocking,” Tate said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “I got the mindset that I’m the best wide receiver in the draft class. I got the route running, I’m able to manipulate DBs. I got the catching, I can catch over DBs. I’ve got the field awareness on the sidelines, a couple of sideline grabs. I also showed up in the blocking game, blocking D-ends, corners. Whatever you need, I got it.”
Tate has plenty of company when it comes to his opinion about how he stacks up with his fellow wideouts and the big question at this point is just how early he’ll come off of the draft board once things get rolling in April.
There is some news on one of the offensive tackles looking to be drafted in April.
Per Dane Brugler of TheAthletic.com, Oregon left tackle Isaiah World suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the first half of the program’s CFP loss to Indiana.
World did not play in the second half of the game and then pulled out of the Senior Bowl.
World underwent surgery to repair the injury earlier in February.
While Brugler notes World will not be attending the scouting combine next week, he will be available for medical re-checks and top-30 visits. He was widely regarded as a potential Day 2 pick in this year’s draft.
World transferred to Oregon in 2025 after spending his first four collegiate seasons at Nevada. He was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree.
On Thursday night, Ole Miss will play Miami for a spot in the CFP championship. Only two LSU coaches will remain on loan for the game — offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith.
Appearing on ACC Network, former Florida State and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher unloaded on LSU coach Lane Kiffin for not letting more of the former Ole Miss assistants help the Rebels finish the job.
“It’s selfish,” Fisher said. “That’s what it is. It’s stupid. And because here’s why I say that. He wanted to coach [Ole Miss] and thought he didn’t get his way. ‘Everybody get on the plane with me, or you don’t have a job.’ All right? And he makes them all go. Then he gets down there and takes a P.R. hit, because it looks bad that you really don’t care about the kids. Then he says, ‘Okay, you can go back.’
“But here’s where he screwed up. He thought they were gonna lose to Georgia. The portal thing was all over with, and it was going to be all over with. He said, ‘I’ll look like a hero.’ Now, he’s got egg on his face because the real Lane came back out. You know what I’m saying? And if those guys were allowed to coach a first game, they should be allowed to coach — because those kids are doing something that you get one time in your life to do. That team. And those guys. One time. And as a coach? Listen, I know, I’ve left a job, I get that. But if you took them on and said they’re never coming back, that’s fine. You set the rules of the game. You don’t change the rules in the middle of the game. And as a coach, it’s hurting the kids and it pisses me off.”
Fisher’s right. If the former Ole Miss assistants were going to be available for any playoff games, they should have been available for all of them.
The entire situation is just another example of the chaos that the custodians of college football have created. It’s on them. And, no matter how hard they try to get someone else to clean up their mess, it’s on them to get the mop and bucket.
Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate is declaring for the 2026 NFL draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.
Tate is projected as a top-10 pick after 1,872 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons with the Buckeyes.
He played only 11 games in 2025, missing three games with an injury, and still caught 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns.
In four consecutive NFL drafts, the Buckeyes have had at least one first-round wide receiver. Tate is expected to make it five consecutive years, following Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave (2022), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023), Marvin Harrison Jr. (2024) and Emeka Egbuka.
In two days, Ole Miss will face Miami in the CFP semifinal. And Ole Miss will have two LSU coaches to help the Rebels offense.
Via ESPN.com, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith will remain on loan for the next round of the playoffs.
Per the report, Weis and Smith flew to Baton Rouge on Monday for recruiting visits and then returned to Oxford to continue preparations for the game.
“Our main focus is on winning this game,” Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter told ESPN on Tuesday morning. “Charlie has been awesome, juggling two high-profile jobs. He’s been incredible. We have no complaints.”
Hopefully, Weis and Smith are getting two paychecks.
Not present for the Ole Miss game will be tight ends coach/co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox and receivers coach/passing game coordinator George McDonald. They both helped in the prior two CFP contests.
The situation has added to the perception/reality of chaos in college football, especially with the transfer portal opening four days ago. The LSU coaches had access to Ole Miss players who could be targeted for pursuit by Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach who now works for LSU.
