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Ben Tate
refer to caption
Tate with the Browns in 2014
Personal information
Born: (1988-08-21) August 21, 1988 (age 36)
Woodbridge, Virginia
Career information
College:Auburn
Position:Running back
NFL draft:2010 / round: 2 / pick: 58
Career history
Career NFL statistics as of 2014
Rushing Attempts:540
Rushing Yards:2,363
Average Yards:4.4
Rushing Touchdown:14
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Tate[1] (born August 21, 1988) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn.

Tate has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Early years

Tate attended Stephen Decatur High School until his junior year, where he was a two-sport star in football and track. He played football as a running back for the Decatur Seahawks. As a junior, he set the Maryland state single-season rushing record with 2,886 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 221.4 yards per game. His performance earned him first-team All-state honors. As a senior, he transferred to Snow Hill High School, where he ran for 2,069 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 12.9 yards per carry while leading Snow Hill to a state runner-up finish. In 37 career games, Tate rushed 542 times for 5,920 yards and 78 touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per carry and 160 yards per game. He also had 210 career receiving yards. Tate also set the Maryland state records for both career yards rushing (5,920) and total career offensive yards (6,123). For his senior performance, he was awarded the Gatorade State Player of the year and was a consensus All-state pick.[2]

Also a standout track & field athlete, Tate competed as a sprinter and was a state-qualifier in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, reaching the Maryland state finals in both events as a freshman while also placing in the top-three as a sophomore.[3] In addition, Tate also recorded a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, had a 32-inch vertical jump and reportedly bench-pressed a maximum of 355 lb (163 kg) and squatted 630 lb (290 kg).[4]

Professional career

Ben Tate catches a pass at training camp.

2010 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m) 		220 lb
(100 kg) 		31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.43 s 1.49 s 2.52 s 4.12 s 6.91 s 40.5 in
(1.03 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 26 reps
All values from the NFL Combine[5]

Tate was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Most projected Tate to be picked somewhere in the early to middle of the second round, and recognizing his value at pick 58, the Texans aggressively traded up to draft him. This is the only time in team history that the Texans have drafted a running back earlier than the third round.

Houston Texans

Tate had high expectations to help a Texans running game that was one of the worst in the league the previous season, but during the Texans pre-season opener in 2010, Tate broke his ankle and was placed on injured reserve(IR).[6]

Tate returned healthy for the 2011 season, but was initially placed fourth on the depth chart behind 2010 NFL rushing leader Arian Foster, Derrick Ward, and Steve Slaton. At the conclusion of the preseason, Tate was listed as the opening day backup to Ward due to a hamstring injury to Foster. In his NFL debut, Tate did not disappoint, rushing for 116 yards and his first NFL touchdown on 24 carries. He followed that performance the following week against the Miami Dolphins with another 100-yard game, finishing with 103 yards on 23 carries. He finished the 2011 regular season with 942 rushing yards on 175 attempts (a 5.4 yards-per-carry average, third-highest in the NFL) with 4 rushing touchdowns and 98 total receiving yards in 15 games played, two of which he started (Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, and week 17 against the Tennessee Titans). Tate ran for 115 yards against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 while Arian Foster ran for 124 yards in the same contest, leading the Texans to 261 yards on the ground, a franchise record.[7][8]

Tate played in 11 games in the 2012 season, amassing 279 rushing yards on 65 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. While his per carry average remained formidable, his carries were limited due to a competitive Houston Texan's backfield along with lingering injuries to his hamstring and foot. It was a frustrating season for the young running back, who had been competing with emerging running back Justin Forsett for backup duties to Arian Foster.

In 2013, Tate appeared in 14 games with the Texans, making 7 starts, after a season-ending injury to Arian Foster. Tate responded by rushing for 771 yards and 4 touchdowns, 3 of which came in a Week 13 game against the New England Patriots where he rushed for a season-high 102 yards. After having battled cracked ribs for much of the season, Tate was placed on injured reserve on December 19, 2013, ending his season.[9]

Cleveland Browns

Tate in 2014.

Ben Tate signed with the Cleveland Browns on March 15, 2014.[10] On October 5, 2014, he ran for a career-high 123 yards on 22 carries in a 29-28 win over Tennessee.

Tate was released by the Browns on November 18, 2014. In the weeks leading up to his release, he grew frustrated with the amount of carries he was getting due to the three-back rotation system the Browns had recently employed, giving Tate, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West fairly even playing time at running back.[11]

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings were awarded Tate on waivers after his release from Cleveland.[12] However, after playing only three games, accumulating 38 rushing yards off of 13 attempts, the Vikings released Tate on December 25, 2014.[13]

Pittsburgh Steelers

In the lead up to the 2014 NFL playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost Le'Veon Bell to injury. With no experienced running backs, they signed the newly released Tate on December 30, 2014. In the Wild Card loss against the Baltimore Ravens, Tate had five carries for 19 yards.

Statistics

College

Season Team Rushing Receiving Kickoffs
GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD KR Yds TD Lng
~2006 AUB 9 54 392 7.3 42 3 2 -3 -1.5 2 0 2 36 0 24
~2007 AUB 13 202 903 4.5 44 8 16 144 9.0 25 0 1 11 0 11
2008 AUB 12 159 664 4.2 49 3 15 90 6.0 27 0 5 139 0 36
~2009 AUB 13 263 1,362 5.2 60 10 20 105 5.3 19 0 0 0 0 0
Total 47 678 3,321 4.9 60 24 53 336 5.0 27 0 8 186 0 36

~ includes bowl game

Professional

Season Team Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Tgts Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
~2010 HOU - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2011 HOU 15 175 942 5.4 56 4 13 19 98 7.5 14 0 4 3
2012 HOU 11 65 279 4.3 25 2 11 11 49 4.5 11 0 1 1
2013 HOU 14 181 771 4.3 60 4 34 51 140 4.1 10 0 5 2
2014 CLE 8 106 333 3.1 25 4 9 12 60 6.7 23 0 0 0
2014 MIN 3 13 38 2.1 - - - - - - - - - -
Total 48 527 2,325 4.4 60 14 67 93 347 5.2 23 0 10 6

~placed on IR in preseason
all stats from espn.com

References

  1. ^ http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/playerinfo?playerId=13210&wjb=
  2. ^ http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/tate_ben00.html
  3. ^ http://www.cantonrep.com/article/20141031/Blogs/141039819
  4. ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Benjamin-Tate-29232
  5. ^ Ben Tate Combine Profile at NFL.com, retrieved April 2, 2010
  6. ^ McClain, John (15 August 2010). "Texans rookie Tate to undergo ankle surgery". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Foster, Tate top 100 yards in Texans' 30-12 win". Sports Illustrated. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  8. ^ Browns vs. Texans, SI.com NFL Game Recap November 6, 2011
  9. ^ Ben Tate (ribs) sent to Houston Texans' injured reserve
  10. ^ http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10613133/ben-tate-cleveland-browns-agree-2-year-deal?ex_cid=espnapi_public
  11. ^ http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000430336/article/cleveland-browns-waive-ben-tate-after-10-games
  12. ^ "Vikings claim Ben Tate off waivers after he was cut by Browns". Pro Football Talk. November 19, 2014.
  13. ^ "Ben Tate released by Minnesota Vikings". NFL Enterprise. December 23, 2014.
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