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.
Tate also noted that he would likely sit behind established starter Reggie McNeal,[2] so he chose to play for the University of Iowa under coach Kirk Ferentz.
At the 2005 Capital One Bowl, game well-attended by Iowa fans in Orlando, Florida, the Hawkeye defense played strong against the LSU offense.
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.
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 confessed to feeling pain in the same muscle in the month prior to the injury but played through the pre-season and majority of the first 2 weeks.
[8] Tate was listed as day-to-day and did not start Week 3 against the Montreal Alouettes; his back-up QB Kevin Glenn played in his place.
[9] Tate was expected to return to the starting position for Week 7, however, he suffered a setback to his throwing arm in practice leading up to the game on August 9.
[11] Tate was primarily used in short yardage situations and led the CFL in rushing touchdowns during the 2014 season with ten scores as the backup to Bo Levi Mitchell.
[16] He was the team's back-up quarterback and started one game for the Redblacks after incumbent starter, Trevor Harris, was out due to injury.
[18][19] On November 3, 2018, the final day of the 2018 regular season, Tate came out of retirement to join the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the team he started his CFL career with ten years prior.
Tate coached receivers, tight ends, and running backs for the Alphas, and was involved in a sideline fight with Conquerors quarterback Justin McMillan during week 2.