Julian Sayin dishes out the secrets Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate use to headline Ohio State’s explosive offense
The Ohio State Buckeyes have built an elite, all-time-level passing game thus far in 2025. Not only is quarterback Julian Sayin leading the Heisman Trophy odds list because of his absurd stat line, but the Buckeyes have the two best receivers in the nation. Combined with a historically good defense, this appears to be quite […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes have built an elite, all-time-level passing game thus far in 2025. Not only is quarterback Julian Sayin leading the Heisman Trophy odds list because of his absurd stat line, but the Buckeyes have the two best receivers in the nation. Combined with a historically good defense, this appears to be quite the special team heading into the last month of the regular season.
Sayin has continued to earn his flowers, even as Jeremiah Smith catches absurd one-handed touchdowns and Carnell Tate pleads for Sayin to win the Heisman. Finally, when asked by fellow Buckeyes teammate Caleb Downs and current Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs, Sayin got the chance to show love back.
The redshirt freshman was asked about the differences between his two superstar receivers. Here’s what Sayin told Downs on Smith and Tate.
Julian Sayin compares Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate as Ohio State stars
The Downs brothers asked Sayin what the difference is between Smith and Tate on the Downs 2 Business podcast. While Smith leads the Big Ten with 55 receptions, he’s just barely ahead of Tate with 725 yards vs. 711. Tate is leading the conference with 18.2 yards per catch and is up to seven touchdowns on the year.
Saying described Smith as:
“Jeremiah is a really good physical receiver. He’s strong, fast and runs really good routes. He’s able to, you know, can put the ball anywhere, and he’s a big target, so you can kind of, when you get one-on-one, he’s really good at the back shoulder fade and highpointing the ball.”
Sayin then switched to Tate, who has emerged as an incredible deep threat and chemistry match with him over the last several weeks.
“C.T. runs really good routes, super smart player. He knows the ins and outs of the zones and does a really good job for us. He does a great job for us in the run game, too. We bring him in, and he goes and digs out the safety. They both do a good job in all aspects.”
It’s a fairly basic breakdown that won’t have anyone confusing Sayin as an NFL scout, but he hit on some nuances that he clearly gets to see and know about more than we do on the outside. Both receivers are aliens with their athleticism, and it’s been a treat watching them as the offense continues to open up and revolve more around Sayin.
