Ryan Day, Ohio State Teammates Proud of Carnell Tate As He Scores Two Touchdowns in Emotional Chicago Homecoming

By Dan Hope on November 16, 2024 at 6:12 pm
Carnell Tate
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When Ryan Day was asked Thursday about Carnell Tate returning to Chicago for this week’s game against Northwestern, Day didn’t hide his desire for the sophomore wide receiver to have a big game in his hometown.

“I just have so much respect for who he is as a person, what he’s been through, and the fact that he’s going back to Chicago. I want to win this game personally for him,” Day said during his radio show. “I know this team respects the fact that he’s going home, and it means a lot to him.”

If that foreshadowing and the fact that Tate had more than 30 family members and friends in attendance put any extra pressure on the second-year Ohio State wideout to perform, he certainly didn’t look fazed by it on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Tate set up the Buckeyes’ first touchdown of the day with a spectacular 14-yard diving catch between two defenders. He made another diving catch from 25 yards out for a touchdown of his own later in the second quarter. He followed that up by scoring an 8-yard touchdown on Ohio State’s next drive to open the second half, ultimately finishing with four catches for 52 yards and the first two-touchdown game of his Ohio State career.

Playing in the city where he grew up carried extra meaning for Tate because of the tragedy he endured in July 2023, when his mother Ashley Griggs was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago. While his mother could only be at Wrigley Field in spirit on Saturday, many of his other closest relatives and friends were in the stands to watch him play, including his sister, father and grandmother.

Tate said he wanted to put on a show for them, but he also knew he couldn’t force it. Ultimately, Tate did put on a show just by playing within the offense and executing when playmaking opportunities came his way.

“It was a lot of high emotions and stuff like that, but I had to manage it,” Tate said after the game. “The biggest thing is being back in front of all my family and stuff like that. They expected a lot coming back home, so they wanted me to put on a show and stuff like that. But I just had to wait and see if the ball found my way.”

Tate’s first touchdown of the game, which came on a deep fade route to the right side of the end zone, was a play that was drawn up by Ohio State as an opportunity for him to score. The ball was actually supposed to go to Emeka Egbuka on Ohio State’s second touchdown, but Tate was in the right place at the right time when the defense’s coverage set up Will Howard to throw the ball his way again for another score.

“I pretty much knew the ball was coming my way on the first touchdown. I had to go out there and make a play. Will put the ball out there for me to go get,” Tate said. “The second touchdown, the ball was really supposed to go for Emeka, but the ball somehow came to me again. So when the ball’s in your hand, you've got to make the best of the opportunity.”

Howard was among Tate’s many teammates who were thrilled to see him shine in the city where he’s from.

“So proud of that kid, man. I couldn't be happier for him, you know, coming home to his home city, given all he's been through, man,” Howard said. “I don't say it a lot to him, but he's one of my favorite guys on the team, and just seeing him every single day, like, he just lifts my mood. And for him to have the game that he had here in his home city in this stadium, I couldn't be happier.”

Sonny Styles viewed Tate’s big game on Saturday as a testament to the perseverance Tate has shown over the past two years.

“He's been able to persevere through some huge things that not a lot of people would be able to overcome,” Styles said. “So for him to be able to do that, come out here and have an amazing game, it just shows you the kind of person he is.”

While Saturday’s game was the first two-touchdown game of Tate’s career, it built upon what’s already been a strong sophomore season for Tate as he’s now caught 31 passes for 457 yards and four scores this season. He’s started to take off in the second half of the season, catching 16 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns in Ohio State’s last four games alone, and his Buckeye teammates expect him to keep getting better and better.

“That dude's a real ball player. He could be one of the top receivers in the country easily,” Ohio State cornerback Jordan Hancock said. “He works day in and day out. He's quiet. He's confident, though. That's what we really like about him. And he's a great player for sure.”

“For him to have the game that he had here in his home city in this stadium, I couldn't be happier.”– Will Howard on Carnell Tate

Throughout the past 16 months, Tate has never allowed his tragic loss to affect his work ethic on the field, and his consistent positivity despite that tragedy has gained him tremendous respect throughout the team. He never wanted his personal circumstances to become a distraction from the Buckeyes’ on-field goals, and that remained true this week.

But Day and the Buckeyes wanted Tate to know how much he meant to them on a week that they knew would be emotional for him, which made Tate’s two touchdowns one of the biggest highlights for everyone on the team in Ohio State’s 31-7 win.

“Carnell's not someone who talks about himself or really would even want me talking about him right now and everything that he's been through. But we all know that he lost his mom, and he does not show that every day when he's here,” Day said. “We say it all the time that the game doesn't care about what you've been through. You cross that line, you go on to the field, the game doesn't doesn't really care. But we do. His teammates do, his coaches do and the people who know Carnell care a lot about him. And just the way that he's handled himself is just an example to everybody. And we care a lot about him. And to see him get two touchdown passes in his hometown in front of a big, I think he had over 25 people here watching him, I know it means a lot to him, but it also means a lot to us. And we're really happy for him today.”

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