Ohio State's Carnell Tate decides on his new jersey number heading into his rookie year in Tennessee.
Carnell Tate never does anything by accident. Just as he is intentional about everything he does on the football field, he is equally intentional about everything off the field.
On Friday, he talked about his new jersey number for the Titans. Now, Buckeye fans are very used to Tate wearing the number 17, but that will change at the next level. Part of that is because the number 17 is already taken, and the other part is that he has good reason to switch to his new number, 14.
The first reason for that is that his late mother, Ashley Griggs, was born on November 14th. Tate and his mom were as close as a mother and son could possibly be until her life was cut short in a drive-by murder in 2023.
The other reason that Tate is going with the number 14 is that he was selected in the first round at pick number 4. Those two numbers mashed together make up the number 14.
He got to it in a very special way, but what will make that number stick is what he does while wearing it. Tate was altogether incredible at Ohio State. He contributed to the Buckeyes while being behind three of the best players in the history of Ohio State football.
He was the number three receiver behind Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka. He was the number three receiver, again, behind Jeremiah Smith and Egbuka, and then last year, he played second fiddle to Smith.
While never being the top option, he always produced.
He had 264 yards in that first year while scratching for 733 yards in year two on the way to the National Championship, and then 875 yards and nine touchdowns while missing three full games in 2025.
He was special in his time in Columbus, and it made him the top wide receiver in this year's NFL Draft.
As he looks towards the NFL and the Tennessee Titans, he has the opportunity to become one of the next great Buckeyes on a team that is very young and oozing with potential.
He is the first weapon that Cam Ward has gotten, and all of a sudden, with the addition of Tate, the Titans have put together a really formidable offense.
Now, it is up to Tate to make the number 14 just as memorable as the number 17 is.
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