Tate attended Stephen Decatur High School until his junior year, where he was a two-sport star in football and track.

[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.

As the feature back in Gus Malzahn's spread offense, Tate shined in his final college season.

Tate also earned AP second-team All-SEC honors, as well as being voted both the Team and Offense MVP award.

Tate also led Auburn to a victory over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, rushing for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns in the overtime win.

~ includes bowl game Tate was selected in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Houston Texans with the 58th overall pick.

[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.

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).

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.

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.

[16] 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.