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Iowa QB proves that size doesn't matter

iowa-tate
Photo courtesy of Paul Montague/ University of Iowa Media Relations
University of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz will be watchful of his sophomore quarterback Drew Tate as they head to Tempe this weekend. Tate has suffered from severe dehydration and cramps for two consecutive weeks.

Touted as a quarterback guru, ASU head coach Dirk Koetter said this week that Iowa playmaker Drew Tate is 5-foot-7.

He should have known better.

The crafty Tate looks at least 5-foot-10, he's listed in Iowa's media guide as an even 6-foot, and he has shown the ability to make plays like his towering predecessor, 6-foot-7 gunslinger Nathan Chandler.

Saturday represents, perhaps, the biggest challenge in Tate's career. That's not saying much, considering it wasn't until last week that Tate, a sophomore, played his first complete game -- a 17-10 win over rival Iowa State.

Last season, Tate appeared in just three games away from Kinnick Stadium, mostly in garbage time behind Chandler. Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd at Sun Devil Stadium will seem somewhat mundane compared to the 100,000-plus fans he'll encounter next Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

Tate doesn't have to play out of his mind. He just has to play like, well, your typical 6-foot college quarterback.

"Nathan looked like a tight end or a power forward," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "But Drew is a little bit different. We have to take what we can get, and we have to look for guys that can play winning football for us."

Tate's transition from backup to starter has gone smoothly, but Ferentz still sees Tate as a work in progress.

Last week, Tate looked sharp against Iowa State, completing 16 of 22 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown. He threw an interception, however, that came on a pass that bounced off senior running back Jermelle Lewis' hands.

Tate played from start to finish for the first time in an Iowa uniform, despite throwing up at halftime after athletic trainers recommended a heavy dose of Powerade and salt tablets intended to prevent cramping.

"We like what we see," said Ferentz, whose team has sported a new starting quarterback in each of the last five seasons. "He's young in an awful lot of ways, but he's a real spirited guy. He does a nice job throwing the football, and he plays with a lot of heart out there."

Tate is much more mobile than Chandler. That bodes well for him in a conservative offense that values the play action and often forces quarterbacks to make things happen on their own when the running game becomes stagnant.

Coached by his stepfather in high school, Tate set Texas state records with 12,180 yards passing, 113 touchdown passes and 970 completions. He's not being asked to do nearly as much at Iowa, especially with the nation's fourth-ranked defense on his side.

"He's not going to typically sit back there and hold the football," Ferentz said. "He reads things pretty quickly, and he typically makes pretty good decisions."

Koetter, who scouted Tate a couple of years ago at Texas A&M's Nike Combine, likens him to Northwestern junior quarterback Brett Basanez because of his instincts and mobility.

"When I first saw him, I was taken back by how short he is," Koetter said. "I mean, this guy is short. But he's also the all-time leading passer in high school history in the state of Texas.

"You've got to move him around so he can find a lane to throw it. He's really good at avoiding the rush. Even if he can't see, he's good at stepping up into the pocket, and then knowing when to still throw it downfield and when to run it."

Given the always-competitive recruiting in the Big Ten, Ferentz feels fortunate to have landed someone with as much upside as Tate.

"We're not Michigan. We're not Ohio State or Penn State," Ferentz said. "We just try to find the best players we can find. And we're really happy that Drew is on our team."

See, size doesn't matter, after all.

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.


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