2023 five-star WR Carnell Tate picks Ohio State

Ever since Brian Hartline joined the staff as the wide receivers coach, Ohio State has had a pipeline of receivers.

Whether it’s Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Buckeyes have shown that they can develop receivers and get them to the next level.

It’s a pipeline Carnell Tate made official that he wanted to be a part of.

The 2023 five-star receiver, the No. 1 receiver in the class and the fifth-ranked player in Rivals Top 250 rankings announced his commitment to the Buckeyes, joining four-star wide receiver Bryson Rodgers in the class.

" It feels great being a Buckeye now," Tate told Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove. "I finally get to work with Coach Hartline and stuff like that and not play the recruiting game anymore. Like it's all about ball and he's all about developing his players and his receivers. We're just focusing on ball and helping me get developed and get ready to play there."

Tate is the first five-star wide receiver to pick Ohio State since Emeka Egbuka in 2021, and is the first five-star athlete in a 2023 class that includes four-star offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, four-star tight end Ty Lockwood and four-star safety Malik Hartford.

Tate’s decision came down to Ohio State, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Notre Dame, giving the Buckeyes their fifth recruit in the 2023 class from the state of Florida, along with four-star cornerback Dijon Johnson, four-star athlete Cedrick Hawkins, four-star running back Mark Fletcher and Rodgers.

While Tate officially joins the 2023 class, Ohio State continues to wait on a decision from five-star wide receiver Brandon Inniss, who was in Columbus this past weekend on an official visit, and four-star wide receiver Noah Rogers.

Welcome back to the top of the recruiting leaderboard in 2023, Ohio State.

While the Buckeyes came into the day sitting at No. 6 in the country behind Notre Dame, Texas Tech, which has 20 commits, Cincinnati, Clemson and Northwestern, which has 18 commits, head coach Ryan Day and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline made its first big splash of the 2023 class, bringing in its first five-star.

Tate brings a level of consistency to the 2023 class. He's a bigger receiver that may not be the fastest player on the field or fastest receiver in Hartline's room, but is not extremely consistent in terms of route running and catching.

Coming into the program at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Tate is a tall, yet slender receiver, who has room to fill out when he enters Mickey Marotti's weight room and the Buckeyes' strength and conditioning program.

More importantly, though, Tate gives Ohio State a sort of succession plan after Marvin Harrison Jr., who could leave the Buckeyes after the 2023 season, leaving Jayden Ballard as, possibly, the only option to replace him on the outside at X.

Tate also gives the Buckeyes a bit of momentum in the 2023 class. And it's not only at the wide receiver position with a player like Inniss, but also with four-star offensive tackle Olaus Alinen, who is a domino that needs to fall at a position of need, safeties Joenel Aguero, Caleb Downs and Jayden Bonsu, along with linebacker Tackett Curtis.

Ohio State already had a solid class. But the Tate addition could be the one putting the Buckeyes back on the trajectory for a top-five class or better in 2023.