Ohio State's Carnell Tate Using his Lowest Point to Drive Him to the Next Level

Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate went from the top of the world to the bottom of it in just one phone call.

Tate was a budding freshman at The Ohio State University, also known as wide receiver U, and he had his sights set on making it to the NFL and getting his family out of a tough situation back home.

It was July 15, 2023, and Tate had the opportunity to FaceTime his mother, Ashley Griggs, earlier that day. She was going to a class reunion that night. That conversation would turn out to be their last one.

Griggs was murdered in a drive-by shooting that night, and it flipped Tate's life upside down.

Tate, who is quiet and introverted by nature, had a new challenge that he had to overcome: life without his best friend and his mom. When he got the phone call, he sat by himself, locked in his bedroom with his friends outside of it waiting to embrace their friend in his lowest moment.

The true measure of NFL draft prospect Carnell Tate

The true measure of NFL draft prospect Carnell Tate Wide receiver Carnell Tate is confident, intelligent and ready to star in the NFL. His mother made sure of it.

Tate found himself at a fork in the road. He could let this tragedy define him or propel him. He chose the latter and used the memory of his mother to propel him to become one of the best wide receivers in the entire nation.

Over his final two seasons, sharing the field with at least two other first-round picks at the same time, he still registered 103 catches for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns. He notched those numbers while being the second and third options for the Ohio State offense.

Now, as he stares down the NFL Draft on Thursday night, he has the opportunity to be a top-10 pick in this year's draft. He is probably going to be the first wide receiver off the board, but will definitely be one of the first two.