13 things you need to know about Donavan Tate, the Arizona Wildcats' new quarterback
- Updated
Get to know the newest member of Arizona's quarterback room.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The Arizona Wildcats’ quarterback room just got more interesting — and more crowded.
Donavan Tate, the third pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, is set to join the UA football team this summer.
The 2009 MLB Draft? Yes. The 2009 MLB Draft.
Stick with us. We'll get into how that's possible.
Here's a look at all the things you need to know about the newest member of UA's quarterback room.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Let's start with the basics.
Donavan Reed Tate is 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds. He was born in Cartersville, Georgia.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Tate was born on Sept. 27, 1990, making him a 26-year-old soon-to-be college freshman.
How'd he get here? We'll get there.
But let's start at the beginning.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
It all started at Cartersville High School in Georgia.
Tate was a two-sport star, an All-American in baseball and football. He led the school's baseball team to consecutive state championships and was one of the most highly-regarded high school athletes in the country.
Rivals ranked him as a four-star football prospect and the No. 5 athlete in the nation for the class of 2009.
MaxPreps ranked Tate as the No. 5 baseball recruit in the class of 2009, and ESPN 150 ranked him as the No. 6 athlete in the country.
On April 1, 2009, ESPN's Lucas O'Neill put it like this:
"Donavan Tate is a supremely gifted athlete, a two-sport All-American whose future couldn't be brighter. He's humble, polite and quick to praise his mom. He's good-looking, well-liked and studies hard. He's a quiet leader, a dedicated teammate and the hardest worker you'll ever meet."
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
It's no surprise that Donavan Tate is such a gifted athlete.
His father, Lars Tate, is a former NFL running back.
Lars starred at the University of Georgia and played three seasons (1988-90) with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears. He had 292 carries for 1,061 yards and 15 touchdowns during his career.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Tate's wildly successful high school career of course brought college scholarship offers — for both baseball and football.
Tate verbally committed to North Carolina during an in-home visit with then-UNC football coach Butch Davis on Dec. 3, 2008.
He planned to play baseball and football for the Tar Heels. North Carolina recruited Tate as a quarterback, although he also played safety, cornerback, wide receiver and running back in high school.
Tate picked UNC over Alabama, Michigan, USC and others despite never having visited the Heels' campus.
"I tried to look at both sides — football and baseball," Tate told Scout.com in 2008. "Obviously, the football program is coming up with Coach Davis being a good coach. He's really building the football program up. They obviously have a really good baseball team being in the College World Series. (UNC) offers a good opportunity in both sports."
At the time he committed, Tate was considered a likely top pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He said at the time that college was still very much a part of his plans.
The draft is "really not something that I'm trying to focus on at all," Tate told Scout.com when asked about the possibility of going pro. "I'm just trying to focus on the visit (to UNC), and focus on my senior baseball season."
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
"Right now, I'm pretty much set on going to college — that's what I'm going to do," Tate told Scout.com in December of 2008.
Things changed, and quickly.
The San Diego Padres selected Tate No. 3 overall in the 2009 MLB Draft, and offered him a $6.25 million signing bonus, the highest in club history.
Tate did what the vast majority of 18-year-old kids would do. He took the money and ran.
Within weeks, Tate was a professional baseball player. College would have to wait.
So long, Tar Heels. Hello, money.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
An 18-year-old kid with millions in his pocket. Something like that can cause growing pains in a hurry.
Injuries haunted Tate's baseball career, but he also faced other pains. Substance abuse and other major off-the-field issues haunted his career as well.
Tate drank and smoked marijuana in high school, but he said neither habit ever affected his potential or his future.
Then Tate became a professional. He failed two drug tests shortly after beginning his career.
Tate's downward spiral was just beginning.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Fast-forward a few years after Tate was drafted. The 2011 offseason.
“Up until that point, I considered myself an alcoholic,” Tate told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015. “I loved to drink and I drank a lot. I would have drank all day, every day if I could. I drank. I smoked weed. But that offseason (in 2011), for some reason I got involved with the wrong crowd. I had never touched anything besides alcohol or weed. I had never known what that stuff was like.
“I have a very addictive personality and it caught up with me — big time. It spiraled out of control.”
That was when Tate wound up in his first treatment facility — in Tucson, of all places. His short-season manager, Pat Murphy, noticed that Tate would regularly show up to the field drunk.
Murphy, a former Arizona State and Triple-A Tucson Padres skipper, confronted Tate about his habits.
After spending 30 days in the treatment center in Tucson, Tate was ready to get his life — and career — back on track. He convinced himself he would never let things get that out of hand again.
Tate decided he could drink a little if he wanted, and that we was in control. Or so he thought.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Fast-forward again, this time to Jan. 27, 2013. "The day I decided to put my foot down and become a man," Tate told the Union-Tribune.
By that point, Tate had hit his lowest low. His substance abuse caused him to drop 80 pounds.
That day, Tate — weighing 135 pounds — checked himself into rehab again, this time in Northern California. His stay lasted five months.
“That’s when I decided I’ve got a problem and I need to handle it," Tate told the Union-Tribune. "I needed to face it, head-on. I don’t need to continue battling it the rest of my life, bringing people down and getting people involved. I needed to figure it out for myself.”
Tate was still sober when the Union-Tribune talked to him two years later.
“I haven’t been sober this long since I was drafted,” he said. “It’s a blessing. It’s honestly what I have to do. I know me and my personality. I can’t afford to go back down that road.”
Tate now has a tattoo to remind him of the adversity he's overcome. It reads: “It’s not so much what we accomplish at the end of the day. It’s what we’ve overcome that you remember the most.”
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Tate is now a husband and father.
He and Kensey Frasier — now Kensey Tate — were married Oct. 27, 2013 in Surprise.
Kensey was by Tate's side during his second rehab stint, supporting him while he got his life back on track. Together, they have two small girls.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Tate's recovery is a feel-good story. His baseball career, however, lacked a happy ending. The Padres released him at the end of the 2015 season. Tate signed with the Dodgers organization last season, but appeared in just a handful of games.
Tate's minor-league career consisted of 299 games spread over six seasons. The outfielder never made it above high Single-A ball, hitting .226 in 1,049 at-bats.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Tate apparently is in a better place now and wants to give football a shot.
Tate turns 27 in September. He has no college or pro football playing experience. That's why he's allowed to be eight years older than most kids starting college — because he's never been and will be a true freshman in the fall.
“I remember I went to watch him play football one time. He was like a man among boys,” Ash Lawson, a former Padres scout, told the team’s website in 2013. “He was a water bug out there. ... No one could tackle him.
“The bottom line was, he was the best athlete in the country that year ... hands down.”
Tate will be a walk-on and the Padres will pay his college costs, per his original baseball contract.
Tate will compete with incumbent Brandon Dawkins, a redshirt junior, and sophomore Khalil Tate (no relation). Arizona also is bringing in two other freshmen: K’hari Lane of Montezuma, Georgia, and Catalina Foothills’ Rhett Rodriguez, the son of UA coach Rich Rodriguez.
It’s not unprecedented for older quarterbacks who flamed out in baseball to have successful careers in college football.
Chris Weinke joined the Florida State football team at age 25 and became a three-year starter for the Seminoles. Brandon Weeden redshirted as a 24-year-old at Oklahoma State before eventually becoming the Cowboys’ starting QB.
Only time will tell if Tate's football career will have a happier ending than his time on the baseball diamond.
— Michael Lev
- Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Wildcats’ quarterback room just got more interesting — and more crowded.
Donavan Tate, the third pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, is set to join the UA football team this summer.
The 2009 MLB Draft? Yes. The 2009 MLB Draft.
Stick with us. We'll get into how that's possible.
Here's a look at all the things you need to know about the newest member of UA's quarterback room.
- Arizona Daily Star
It all started at Cartersville High School in Georgia.
Tate was a two-sport star, an All-American in baseball and football. He led the school's baseball team to consecutive state championships and was one of the most highly-regarded high school athletes in the country.
Rivals ranked him as a four-star football prospect and the No. 5 athlete in the nation for the class of 2009.
MaxPreps ranked Tate as the No. 5 baseball recruit in the class of 2009, and ESPN 150 ranked him as the No. 6 athlete in the country.
On April 1, 2009, ESPN's Lucas O'Neill put it like this:
"Donavan Tate is a supremely gifted athlete, a two-sport All-American whose future couldn't be brighter. He's humble, polite and quick to praise his mom. He's good-looking, well-liked and studies hard. He's a quiet leader, a dedicated teammate and the hardest worker you'll ever meet."
- Arizona Daily Star
It's no surprise that Donavan Tate is such a gifted athlete.
His father, Lars Tate, is a former NFL running back.
Lars starred at the University of Georgia and played three seasons (1988-90) with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears. He had 292 carries for 1,061 yards and 15 touchdowns during his career.
- Arizona Daily Star
Tate's wildly successful high school career of course brought college scholarship offers — for both baseball and football.
Tate verbally committed to North Carolina during an in-home visit with then-UNC football coach Butch Davis on Dec. 3, 2008.
He planned to play baseball and football for the Tar Heels. North Carolina recruited Tate as a quarterback, although he also played safety, cornerback, wide receiver and running back in high school.
Tate picked UNC over Alabama, Michigan, USC and others despite never having visited the Heels' campus.
"I tried to look at both sides — football and baseball," Tate told Scout.com in 2008. "Obviously, the football program is coming up with Coach Davis being a good coach. He's really building the football program up. They obviously have a really good baseball team being in the College World Series. (UNC) offers a good opportunity in both sports."
At the time he committed, Tate was considered a likely top pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He said at the time that college was still very much a part of his plans.
The draft is "really not something that I'm trying to focus on at all," Tate told Scout.com when asked about the possibility of going pro. "I'm just trying to focus on the visit (to UNC), and focus on my senior baseball season."
- Arizona Daily Star
"Right now, I'm pretty much set on going to college — that's what I'm going to do," Tate told Scout.com in December of 2008.
Things changed, and quickly.
The San Diego Padres selected Tate No. 3 overall in the 2009 MLB Draft, and offered him a $6.25 million signing bonus, the highest in club history.
Tate did what the vast majority of 18-year-old kids would do. He took the money and ran.
Within weeks, Tate was a professional baseball player. College would have to wait.
So long, Tar Heels. Hello, money.
- Arizona Daily Star
An 18-year-old kid with millions in his pocket. Something like that can cause growing pains in a hurry.
Injuries haunted Tate's baseball career, but he also faced other pains. Substance abuse and other major off-the-field issues haunted his career as well.
Tate drank and smoked marijuana in high school, but he said neither habit ever affected his potential or his future.
Then Tate became a professional. He failed two drug tests shortly after beginning his career.
Tate's downward spiral was just beginning.
- Arizona Daily Star
Fast-forward a few years after Tate was drafted. The 2011 offseason.
“Up until that point, I considered myself an alcoholic,” Tate told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015. “I loved to drink and I drank a lot. I would have drank all day, every day if I could. I drank. I smoked weed. But that offseason (in 2011), for some reason I got involved with the wrong crowd. I had never touched anything besides alcohol or weed. I had never known what that stuff was like.
“I have a very addictive personality and it caught up with me — big time. It spiraled out of control.”
That was when Tate wound up in his first treatment facility — in Tucson, of all places. His short-season manager, Pat Murphy, noticed that Tate would regularly show up to the field drunk.
Murphy, a former Arizona State and Triple-A Tucson Padres skipper, confronted Tate about his habits.
After spending 30 days in the treatment center in Tucson, Tate was ready to get his life — and career — back on track. He convinced himself he would never let things get that out of hand again.
Tate decided he could drink a little if he wanted, and that we was in control. Or so he thought.
- Arizona Daily Star
Fast-forward again, this time to Jan. 27, 2013. "The day I decided to put my foot down and become a man," Tate told the Union-Tribune.
By that point, Tate had hit his lowest low. His substance abuse caused him to drop 80 pounds.
That day, Tate — weighing 135 pounds — checked himself into rehab again, this time in Northern California. His stay lasted five months.
“That’s when I decided I’ve got a problem and I need to handle it," Tate told the Union-Tribune. "I needed to face it, head-on. I don’t need to continue battling it the rest of my life, bringing people down and getting people involved. I needed to figure it out for myself.”
Tate was still sober when the Union-Tribune talked to him two years later.
“I haven’t been sober this long since I was drafted,” he said. “It’s a blessing. It’s honestly what I have to do. I know me and my personality. I can’t afford to go back down that road.”
Tate now has a tattoo to remind him of the adversity he's overcome. It reads: “It’s not so much what we accomplish at the end of the day. It’s what we’ve overcome that you remember the most.”
- Arizona Daily Star
Tate is now a husband and father.
He and Kensey Frasier — now Kensey Tate — were married Oct. 27, 2013 in Surprise.
Kensey was by Tate's side during his second rehab stint, supporting him while he got his life back on track. Together, they have two small girls.
- Arizona Daily Star
Tate's recovery is a feel-good story. His baseball career, however, lacked a happy ending. The Padres released him at the end of the 2015 season. Tate signed with the Dodgers organization last season, but appeared in just a handful of games.
Tate's minor-league career consisted of 299 games spread over six seasons. The outfielder never made it above high Single-A ball, hitting .226 in 1,049 at-bats.
- Arizona Daily Star
Tate apparently is in a better place now and wants to give football a shot.
Tate turns 27 in September. He has no college or pro football playing experience. That's why he's allowed to be eight years older than most kids starting college — because he's never been and will be a true freshman in the fall.
“I remember I went to watch him play football one time. He was like a man among boys,” Ash Lawson, a former Padres scout, told the team’s website in 2013. “He was a water bug out there. ... No one could tackle him.
“The bottom line was, he was the best athlete in the country that year ... hands down.”
Tate will be a walk-on and the Padres will pay his college costs, per his original baseball contract.
Tate will compete with incumbent Brandon Dawkins, a redshirt junior, and sophomore Khalil Tate (no relation). Arizona also is bringing in two other freshmen: K’hari Lane of Montezuma, Georgia, and Catalina Foothills’ Rhett Rodriguez, the son of UA coach Rich Rodriguez.
It’s not unprecedented for older quarterbacks who flamed out in baseball to have successful careers in college football.
Chris Weinke joined the Florida State football team at age 25 and became a three-year starter for the Seminoles. Brandon Weeden redshirted as a 24-year-old at Oklahoma State before eventually becoming the Cowboys’ starting QB.
Only time will tell if Tate's football career will have a happier ending than his time on the baseball diamond.
— Michael Lev
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