Ben Tate
No. 44, 33, 34 | |||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Woodbridge, Virginia, U.S. | August 21, 1988||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Snow Hill (MD) Stephen Decatur (Berlin, Maryland) | ||||
College: | Auburn (2006–2009) | ||||
NFL draft: | 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 58 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Player stats at NFL.com |
Benjamin Franklin Tate[1] (born August 21, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers. Tate also played for the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early years
Tate attended
Also a standout
Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Tate was ranked No. 6 nationally among running backs and the No. 2 player from the state of Maryland. Upon graduation from Snow Hill High School, Tate received scholarship offers from Auburn, Virginia, Penn State, Maryland, and North Carolina before accepting a scholarship to Auburn University.[5]
College career
Freshman year
Tate played sparingly behind senior Kenny Irons, and gained 392 yards on 54 carries in 9 games. He received Freshman All-America Honorable Mention from The Sporting News. Ben's best game was a 156 yard performance against Tulane.[6]
Sophomore year
Tate's sophomore season was a strong one, leading the Tigers in rushing (903 yards on 202 carries for a 4.5 yard average) and to a victory over Clemson in the
Junior year
Heading into his Junior campaign, Tate was named to several preseason All-SEC teams.
Senior year
As the feature back in
Tate finished at Auburn 5th on the career rushing list, behind Auburn greats
Statistics
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 career
2010 NFL Draft
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[7]
|
Tate was drafted in the second round in the 2010 NFL draft by the Houston Texans with the 58th overall pick.[8] 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).[9]
Tate returned healthy for the 2011 season, but was initially placed fourth on the depth chart behind 2010 NFL rushing champion 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.[10][11]
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 Texans' 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.[12]
Cleveland Browns
Tate signed with the Cleveland Browns on March 15, 2014.[13] On October 5, 2014, he ran for a career-high 123 yards on 22 carries in a 29-28 win over the Tennessee Titans.
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.[14]
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings were awarded Tate on waivers after his release from Cleveland.[15] However, after playing only three games with the team, accumulating 38 rushing yards off of 13 attempts, the Vikings released Tate on December 25, 2014.[16]
Pittsburgh Steelers
In the lead up to the
Tate participated in The Spring League in 2017.[17]
Statistics
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 | 2.9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 51 | 540 | 2,363 | 4.4 | 60 | 14 | 67 | 93 | 347 | 5.2 | 23 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
~placed on IR in preseason
All statistics from espn.com
References
- ^ "Ben Tate Stats, News, Bio".
- ^ ""/> <meta property="og:description" content="". Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
- ^ "Ben Tate hates times like these".
- ^ "Benjamin Tate - Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- ^ "Benjamin Tate". n.rivals.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Ben Tate". auburntigers.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ Ben Tate Combine Profile at NFL.com, retrieved April 2, 2010
- ^ "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ McClain, John (August 15, 2010). "Texans rookie Tate to undergo ankle surgery". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ "Foster, Tate top 100 yards in Texans' 30-12 win". Sports Illustrated. November 6, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^ Browns vs. Texans, SI.com NFL Game Recap Archived December 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine November 6, 2011
- ^ Ben Tate (ribs) sent to Houston Texans' injured reserve
- ^ "Browns agree to deal with ex-Texans RB Tate". March 15, 2014.
- NFL.com.
- Pro Football Talk. November 19, 2014. Archived from the originalon November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ^ "Ben Tate released by Minnesota Vikings". NFL Enterprise. December 23, 2014.
- ^ Levine, Ben (April 9, 2017). "The Spring League Announces Camp Roster". profootballrumors.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
External links
- Ben Tate on Instagram
- Cleveland Browns bio
- Houston Texans bio
- Auburn Tigers bio