Ohio State needs to harvest a new crop of leaders in its locker room for 2025.
Some obvious ones return from its 2024 national championship squad, like linebacker Sonny Styles or safety Caleb Downs. But with 18 starters gone from a senior-laden team, players who aren’t as accustomed to speaking up will need to this year.
In a receiver room replacing its main sage veteran in Emeka Egbuka, one upperclassman working to find his voice is the often soft-spoken junior Carnell Tate.
“I feel like I'm more comfortable (leading),” Tate said on April 8. “Usually I'm just not talking, I just let my game play, but I know sometimes you gotta be vocal to pick other guys up and it's just not always about me.