Rodney Tate

{{Short description|American football player (born 1959)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Rodney Tate

| number = 23, 44

| position = Running back

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|2|14}}

| birth_place = Okmulgee, Oklahoma, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 190

| high_school = Beggs (OK)

| college = Texas

| draftyear = 1982

| draftround = 4

| draftpick = 110

| pastteams =

• Cincinnati Bengals ({{NFL Year|1982}}–{{NFL Year|1983}})
• Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1984}})

| statlabel1 = Rushing yards

| statvalue1 = 79

| statlabel2 = Rushing average

| statvalue2 = 2.9

| statlabel3 = Receptions

| statvalue3 = 18

| statlabel4 = Receiving yards

| statvalue4 = 142

| pfr = TateRo01

}}

Rodney Tate (born February 14, 1959) is a former American football running back. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1982 to 1983 and for the Atlanta Falcons in 1984.{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TateRo01.htm |title=Rodney Tate Stats |publisher=Pro-Football-Reference.com |date= |access-date=2019-12-30}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/player/rodneytate/2527042/profile |title=Rodney Tate, RB |work=Nfl.com |date= |access-date=2019-12-30}}

Tate was a top recruit out of Beggs High School in 1978 and part of the 1975 State Championship Team and also won multiple state championships in track for sprinting. Though recruited by home-state Oklahoma he made the unusual choice of going to the University of Texas.{{cite news |last1=Kemp |first1=Adam |title=Former Beggs star Rodney Tate is one of the few Oklahoma high schoolers to head south of Red River |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/high-school/2018/10/04/former-beggs-star-rodney-tate-is-one-of-the-few-oklahoma-high-schoolers-to-head-south-of-red-river/60497439007/ |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=4 October 2018}}

At Texas he played both football and ran track. During his senior year, the Longhorns spent one week ranked #1 and finished the year ranked #2 after beating Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. Though frequent injuries kept him off the field, getting only 170 touches over 4 seasons, his explosive speed caught the attention of NFL Scouts.{{cite web |title=Rodney Tate |url=https://wearebeggs.com/rodney-tate/ |access-date=8 February 2023}}

In track he set the school record, later broken, in the 60 yard dash.{{cite web |title=Texas Track and Field Record Book |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/texassports_com/documents/2019/2/18/2018_19_TFXC_Record_Book_Final.pdf |access-date=8 February 2023}}

In the NFL, he returned a kick-off return for 101 yards during a preseason game, but saw little playing time in his two years in Cincinnati and less in Atlanta.

After the NFL he returned to Texas to get degrees in sociology and communications and work as a graduate assistant coach hoping to catch on in college football coaching, but no offers came. He returned to his home town to run a lawn care business with his brother and then became a football, track and cross-country coach at his old high school, helping them to get to the 2017 state championship game. {{cite news |last1=Helsley |first1=Jeff |title=A Texas-sized steal Tate chose Longhorns over OU - with no regrets |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2000/01/16/a-texas-sized-steal-tate-chose-longhorns-over-ou-with-no-regrets/62213927007/ |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=16 January 2000}} In 2022, the school named their football stadium for him.{{cite news |last1=Horton |first1=Stacey |title=FOOTBALL FIELD NAMED FOR FORMER NFL PLAYER |url=https://www.beggs.k12.ok.us/article/844736 |access-date=8 February 2023 |date=22 September 2022}}