After his late-game heroics in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2005, Drew Tate will forever go down in Iowa Hawkeye football lore.

With the time ticking down and a 25-24 deficit to the Nick Saban and JaMarcus Russell led Lousiana State University Tigers, Tate dropped back and launched a 56-yard bomb to fifth-year senior Warren Holloway for the game-winning score. It was the first touchdown catch of Holloway's career.

As a young Hawkeye fan, I can still envision the camera angle of Tate running down the field, hair flopping, helmet in hand, in complete disbelief -- as we all were. It was one of the greatest moments in Iowa football history.

 

And now, it appears he's returning to the state of Iowa -- not as a Hawkeye, though.

As not-so-cryptically shared on his Twitter profile last night, Tate changed his profile picture to the Northern Iowa logo, along with placing a photo of the inside of the UNI-Dome as the header photo.

Though I couldn't determine what position he'd be coaching, several sources confirmed he'd be added to the 2022 staff. Should he serve as the quarterbacks coach, he'd replace Shawn Watson, who left this offseason to take the offensive coordinator role at Wofford College. Watson was also the OC and assistant head coach with the Panthers.

Playing at Iowa from 2003-06 and serving as a three-year starter at quarterback, the Baytown, Texas native left the Hawkeyes ranked second in school history in career touchdown passes (61), completions (665), attempts (1,090), and passing yards (8,292) while finishing third in wins by a starting quarterback with 21.

After leaving the program in Iowa City, he signed with the then-St. Louis Rams as a free agent in 2007. Unable to make the final roster, he went on to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL), where he spent 11 seasons. Over that time frame, he played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Ottawa Redblacks. He finished his career with over 5,000 passing yards and 35 touchdowns over 147 games.

Since entering the coaching ranks, he's been a defensive analyst for Coastal Carolina, served as a multi-positional coach for the Wild Aces of the Fan-Controlled Football league, was the quarterback coach for the BC Lions of the CFL, and most recently coached the quarterbacks at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

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