Drew Tate

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.

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

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.

Career statistics

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