Carnell Tate Won't Say Michigan

Carnell Tate joined the show, got quizzed on his college affiliation, and spent the segment carefully refusing to say the word Michigan out loud.

Rich opened with the setup question. Does Tate follow college basketball? Yes. Does he know who won the national championship the previous week? Yes. Can he tell Rich the name of the school? Team up north.

Rich pretended to dig through notes. He had checked the final score. Checked the bottom graphic. Checked the box score. Nothing said team up north versus UConn. Nothing. Tate held the line. That's what the Ohio State rivalry means to anybody with an Ohio State receiver room pedigree.

Rich offered the co-sign. He would say it. Ohio State Buckeyes. He then asked to put up the photo his production team had chosen for the segment. It was Tate in the snow. Rich approved. Very fine by him.

Tate had a prop. He reached back and pulled out a pair of gold pants, an Ohio State rivalry trophy handed out for wins over team up north. Rich held them up and ran a bit. Why are they called gold pants? Those are Michigan colors. Tate shrugged it off. They're gold pants. He got a victory. That's what matters.

The conversation moved to the Ohio State receivers text chain. Coach Brian Hartline keeps it alive. Tate is in the group with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Emeka Egbuka. The most recent congrats in the thread went to whoever just signed a contract.

Rich floated his candidacy. Can he be added to the chain? Tate laughed him off. You have to be in that pedigree, he said. A pedigree receiver. Rich made his case. Look at these hands. He can pick up a pen. He has his glasses. He has his notebook. Great hands, he claimed, holding up both of them on camera.

Tate held the line again. The chain is just called Receivers. No flair. No branding. No outsiders. Rich offered to rename it. Tate deflected. The people speak for themselves. The receivers just go out and play football. He said it with the kind of smooth, deferential confidence that reads well in a pre-draft interview and made the whole exchange land.

The segment was half rivalry bit, half scouting showcase. A top receiver prospect handling an ambush-style Michigan interrogation without flinching, giving Rich just enough material to work with while keeping the team up north bit fully alive.

Good hands. Better instincts.