Fred Tate comes to Austin Peay after spending last season as the co-defensive coordinator for OVC rival UT Martin.
Prior to joining the Skyhawks, he had a three-year stint at Cal, where he guided the development of several student-athletes that played a key role on the team’s defensive over that period (2014-16), most notably 2016 Defensive Team MVP James Looney and Kyle Kragen during his breakout campaign as a 2015 senior.
Looney was also a third-team All-Pac-12 selection by Phil Steele and an honorable mention All-Pac-12 choice after starting all 12 games at defensive tackle and compiling 54 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss (-38 yards), 3.5 sacks (-22 yards), two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery that he returned 25 yards at USC for the team’s lone fumble return of the campaign and one forced fumble.
Kragen capped his collegiate career with a huge senior season as he led Cal with career highs in tackles for loss (8.0, -43 yards), sacks (7.0, -36 yards) and quarterback hurries (6) while sharing the team lead with his first two career forced fumbles and adding his first career fumble recovery. In addition to being an honorable mention All-Pac-12 choice of the league's coaches, Kragen earned third-team All-Pac-12 honors from Phil Steele and was also added to the midseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award honoring the nation’s top defensive end.
Cal’s defense had several big moments in 2016 most notably a goal-line stand on the final series of the game against No. 18 Utah that propelled the Bears to a 28-23 victory over the Utes. Utah had first-and-goal from the two-yard line and were turned back three times with Looney stopping Zack Moss just inches short of the goal-line on the final play to set off a wild celebration in Berkeley. Cal's defense had also stopped Utah on downs in the red zone earlier in the fourth quarter with Looney and fellow defensive tackle Tony Mekari making the final stop.
In 2015, much of Cal's success was because the Bears' defense continued to improve at a rapid rate, allowing 15.8 points fewer than in the season before Tate's arrival. Cal was one of the nation's top teams in categories related to caused turnovers in 2015 as the Bears finished the campaign tied for 11th nationally in fumbles recovered (12), tied for 13th in turnovers gained (27), tied for 23rd in passes intercepted (15) and tied for 25th in defensive touchdowns (3). Cal tied for first in the Pac-12 in fumbles recovered, tied for second in turnovers gained and passes intercepted, and tied for fourth in defensive touchdowns. All of the 2015 numbers and rankings were improvements from the previous season.
Several Cal also players had their best collegiate seasons under Tate in his first season at Cal in 2014 most notably defensive tackles Mustafa Jalil and Austin Clark, who were major factors in the team’s one-year improvement of 48 spots and 44 yards per game in rush defense to No. 38 nationally (144.6 ypg).
Prior to his arrival at Cal he spent the 2013 season as the defensive tackles coach for a Cincinnati team that finished 9-4 overall and played in the Belk Bowl. Cincinnati’s 2013 defense was one of the best in the country, ranking in the top 10 nationally in both rushing defense (6th, 104.5 ypg) and total defense (9th, 315.6 ypg). Cincinnati was also among the top 30 in 10 of the 11 primary defensive categories tracked in the national stats, including 14th in scoring defense (21.0 ppg), third-down conversion percentage defense (33.1%) and first downs defense (230); 23rd in sacks (2.69 spg) and red-zone defense (76.5%); 25th in team passing efficiency defense (116.75); 26th in tackles for loss (6.80 tflpg); and 29th in passing yards allowed (211.2 ypg).
Tate was the defensive line coach at Texas Tech in 2012, inheriting a 2011 unit that ranked 114th nationally in total defense (485.58 ypg) and improving them to 38th (367.31 ypg) while ranking second in the Big 12 Conference. Texas Tech was keyed by a pass defense that led the league and ranked 15th in the country (192.00 ypg). The Red Raiders finished 8-5 overall and were victorious over Minnesota at the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Tate has also been on coaching staffs at Marshall (2010-11), Tennessee-Chattanooga (2008-09), Southern Miss (2005-06), Middle Tennessee (2002), Southwest Texas State (2001), East Mississippi Community College (2000), Jacksonville State (1998-99) and East Central Community College (1997).
A native of Hattiesburg, Miss., Tate served in the United States Army enlisted in the United States Army and was a member of the elite airborne unit stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Following his military service, Tate started his collegiate football career with two seasons at East Central Community College, where he was a JC Gridwire All-American selection as a 1994 sophomore and voted the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the National Junior College All-Star Game.
He continued his playing career at Southern Mississippi, where he was a defensive lineman in 1995 and 1996 for a Golden Eagles’ team that was a charter member of Conference USA and won the league’s first football championship with a 4-1 conference mark in his second and final season while finishing with an 8-3 overall record that included a victory over Georgia and a seven-game winning streak.
Tate earned his bachelor’s degree in human performance from Southern Miss in 1997.
The Tate File
College: Southern Miss, 1997 (human performance)
Coaching:
2018 – Austin Peay (Defensive Line)
2017 – UT Martin (Assistant Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator)
2014-16 – Cal (Defensive Line)
2013 – Cincinnati (Defensive Tackles)
2012 – Texas Tech (Defensive Line)
2010-11 – Marshall (Safeties/Defensive Line)
2008-09 – Chattanooga (Defensive Line)
2005-06 – Southern Miss (Defensive Tackles/Outside Linebackers)
2003-04 – East Carolina (Defensive Line)
2002 – Middle Tennessee (Defensive Line)
2001 – Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) (Defensive Line)
2000 – East Mississippi Community College (Defensive Line/Punting and Kicking)
1998-99 – Jacksonville State (Defensive Line/Special Teams)
1997 – East Central Community College (Tight Ends/Wide Receivers)
Healy on Tate: “He’s an excellent person. I believe he demands a lot out of the kids. He’ll hold them accountable, but they also really respect his knowledge and his experience – which, as a guy coaching at Cal, Texas Tech, Marshall, Cincinnati – he’s had some big-time experience. I felt very comfortable and confident in how he would fit with our staff and be able to develop the defensive linemen. He’s been a great fit.”
