Drew Tate

Drew Tate

No. 4     Calgary Stampeders
Date of birth:	(1984-10-08) October 8, 1984
Place of birth:	Baytown, Texas
Career information
Status:	Injured
CFL status:	Import
Position(s):	QB
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	192 lb (87 kg)
College:	Iowa
High school:	Robert E. Lee
NFL Draft:	2007 / Undrafted
Hand:	Right
Organizations
As player:
2007 2007–2008 2009–present	St. Louis Rams* Saskatchewan Roughriders* Calgary Stampeders *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Drew Tate (born October 8, 1984) is a professional American and Canadian football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Iowa.

Tate has also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Early years

Tate attended Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Texas, where he was coached there by his stepfather Dick Olin and had a record breaking career. He ranks first in the Texas high school football record book in career pass attempts and completions, ahead of Graham Harrell. He also ranks second in career passing yards with 12,183, behind Harrell (12,532), and third in career touchdown passes with 113, behind Harrell (167) and Colt McCoy (116).

He originally committed to Texas A&M, but de-committed after R. C. Slocum was replaced with Dennis Franchione. Tate also noted that he would likely sit behind established starter Reggie McNeal, so he chose to play for the University of Iowa under coach Kirk Ferentz. He played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career

2005 Capital One Bowl

At a game well-attended by Iowa fans in Orlando, Florida, the Hawkeye defense played strong against the LSU offense. However, LSU took their first lead with 56 seconds remaining. On the game’s final play, Tate attained fame when he threw a 56-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to senior Warren Holloway as time expired. Many Iowa fans say this was the greatest play in the school's famed football history. Drew Tate visited Ferndale Union High School, a small school in California, after this game, to visit long time friend and half brother, Nathan Coppini.

Honors

• 2004 All-Big Ten Conference First Team (coaches) and Second Team (media)
• 2004 Big Ten Player of the Year (collegefootballnews.com)
• 2005 Capital One Bowl MVP

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

On May 3, 2007 Drew Tate signed with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent, but he became expendable after the Rams signed Brock Berlin. Tate was released on May 22, 2007.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

After his release from the Rams, Tate signed a practice roster agreement with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007. After spending two years on either the practice roster or the injured reserve list, Tate was removed from the practice roster on November 9, 2008 and became a free agent.

Calgary Stampeders

Tate signed with the Calgary Stampeders on June 3, 2009.

On November 9, 2010, Tate signed a contract extension with the Stampeders. Due to ineffective play by incumbent quarterback Henry Burris, Tate received his first professional start against his former team, the Roughriders, on October 22, 2011 and posted a 25-13 win. Tate went on to lead the Stampeders to three straight wins to the finish off the regular season. Drew Tate made his first CFL Playoff start against the Edmonton Eskimos. Tate struggled throwing 5 completions in 10 attempts for 99 yards and an interception. At the start of the second half he was replaced by Henry Burris who could not lead the Stamps to victory, thus ending the season. In the off-season the Stamps traded away Burris making Tate the starting quarterback.

He opened the 2012 CFL season with a dominate win over the Montreal Alouettes. However, in the second week of the season Tate suffered a dislocated shoulder in his non-throwing arm. Tate opted to perform surgery on it immediately, seemingly ending his season. However, Tate returned to play in the final two games of the regular season. Tate was announced the starter for Stamps home game of the Western Division Semi-Finals against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He broke his forearm and may have suffered a concussion during the game but played the entire game nonetheless. His 68 yard TD pass to Romby Bryant with only 20 seconds left gave the Stamps the victory. However, the broken forearm would cause him to miss the Western Final and the 100th Grey Cup.

Career statistics

			Passing										Rushing
Year	Team		Games	Started	Comp	Att	Pct	Yards	TD	Int	Rating		Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD	Fumb
2009	CGY		18	0	9	11	81.8	78	0	0	99.8		2	20	10.0	20	0	0
2010	CGY		18	0	44	62	71.0	521	7	0	133.9		36	189	5.3	40	5	1
2011	CGY		13	3	101	158	63.9	1,346	8	5	94.6		44	149	3.4	16	4	1
2012	CGY		8	3	46	63	73.0	570	4	3	102.0		4	31	7.8	11	1	1
CFL totals			57	6	200	294	68.0	2,515	19	8	104.6		86	389	4.5	40	10	3

• Games mean "Dressed For", not "Played In"

References

Preceded by Nathan Chandler

Iowa Hawkeyes Starting Quarterback 2004-2006

Succeeded by Jake Christensen