Ohio State enters the 2025 season on the heels of its first national title since 2014. As is the case in most instances, success breeds competition.

In this era of NIL and the transfer portal, that competition is particularly related to teams looking to poach pieces of the roster. According to previous reports, star wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith each had million or multi-million dollar offers to enter the portal.

Smith was always viewed as a longshot to leave the program after serving as the team’s No. 1 option as a freshman in the run to the national title. And while Tate is poised to ascend into a larger role this fall, his position as the team’s No. 3 option in 2024 had opposing teams inquiring.

However, Tate is going to be back at Ohio State once again, and ESPN’s Max Olson writes Tate is the most important piece that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes retained this offseason. Here’s what Olson had to say about that selection:

Tate was worth a lot of money to teams with receiver needs and would’ve commanded a serious bidding war if he’d put his name in the transfer portal after the Buckeyes’ national championship victory. But the rising star is staying in Columbus and eager to prove he can be one of the best wideouts in the country.

Tate turned 67 targets into 52 catches, 733 yards and 4 touchdowns as a sophomore. He should see even more usage this year with Emeka Egbuka heading off to the NFL and defenses dedicating a lot of attention to Jeremiah Smith.

The other side of that coin is that Ohio State is losing a lot of players — but not to rival programs. A host of talent from the nation’s No. 1 defense is on its way to the NFL Draft, and the veteran leaders on offense — Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Will Howard — are following that trajectory.

Carnell Tate returning alongside Smith will be especially significant as the Buckeyes break in a new quarterback, likely to be Julian Sayin, for 2025. Having two players capable of winning one-on-one battles on the outside should help Sayin (or whoever wins the starting job) have some immediate confidence in leading the offense.