Ohio State has produced yet another season of exceptional pass-catching work at play. That is largely thanks to Carnell Tate, who has now emerged as an elite draft prospect. It’s no wonder, considering he’s a Buckeye. The NFL icon that he reminds people of is just as elite as he is.

Carnell Tate has given a phenomenal performance this season. It’s tough to break out under the shadow of Jeremiah Smith, but he was able to do it. Heading into the draft as the No. 1 receiver on the board, he’s now being compared with quite a few big names. However, the difference between him and Justin Jefferson seems to be practically absent.

“On tape, Tate looks like a Justin Jefferson-level prospect when comparing their college games,” ESPN’s Matt Miller wrote in his grading of the WR. “Tate is a polished, crisp route runner with the body control to adjust midroute or attack the ball in the air. He had zero drops on 67 targets this season and showed he can consistently win in contested-catch situations.”

Like Jefferson, one of Tate’s biggest strengths is the ability to change things up while running the route. He uses his feet cleverly to run any kind of route, while being a serious threat in running vertical ones. Jefferson, while coming out of college, played in a similar fashion. He thrived when LSU’s offense shifted to become pro one, which brought him up to the slot. The WR, apart from being good in vertical drives, also caused trouble by creating mismatches.

And, as Miller mentioned, the other most striking similarity is in the strength both WRs deploy while making a catch. Tate extends his whole body to get a catch mid-air. He’s got strong hands as well. Jefferson displayed the same skill at LSU, which helped him extend the catch while in motion.

The OSU receiver has caught for a total of 121 times over three seasons, for 1,872 yards and 14 touchdowns. Had he broken out onto the scene earlier, he would have mirrored Jefferson’s LSU stat line as well. As a Tiger, he hauled in 165 catches for 2,415 yards and 24 scores. Carnell Tate has also missed some time due to injury, which is why he will finish with under 1,000 yards this year.

Unfortunately, the end of their collegiate careers is starkly different. While Jefferson came to the NFL fresh as a National Championship winner, Tate won’t. The receiver had quite the problems against Miami, despite being the projected winners of the Cotton Bowl.

Carnell Tate ends OSU career on a disappointing note

Ohio State was counting on the Jeremiah Smith-Carnell Tate pairing for the clash with Miami. They have been the face of the Buckeyes’ passing attack, and were expected to launch a dominant one at the Hurricanes as well. However, Carnell Tate performed abnormally. He struggled to find his groove against the lethal pass rush from Miami. Tate hauled in only 3 catches for 37 yards.

This is, without a doubt, his worst performance ever. It might not cripple his draft stocks, but it’s a bad note to end the season on. Carnell Tate was troubled by other offensive issues as well, like poor O-line show, which pressured Julian Syain to make ill-timed throws. The offense didn’t improve much from its position against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship.

This is not the first time he’s played in the playoffs –Tate registered his season high of 7 catches and 87 yards last year in the Cotton Bowl. However, Miami’s physical attack ended up being too much for the Buckeyes’ passing game.

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Carnell Tate can still make it as WR1 in the draft, and is predicted to go at No. 6 to Cleveland. He has the potential to be as elite as Justin Jefferson. But he will need quite some time to begin contributing on the level of the Vikings’ WR.