Cartersville’s Tate not ready to skip football

Cartersville’s Donavan Tate had 2.4 million reasons not to play football this season. That was the average salary bonus of baseball players selected in the first round of the last major-league draft, and Tate is projected to be one of the nation’s top picks next June. After traveling all over the world to play for USA Baseball last summer, Tate initially decided to skip his senior year of football. But he changed his mind a week later. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Tate plays quarterback for Cartersville, which plays at St. Pius on Friday in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs. Here are four reasons that Tate, son of former Georgia and NFL tailback Lars Tate, is playing football:

Love of the game

Tate returned home on Aug. 18 after playing baseball every day for nearly two months. Cartersville began football practice the next day, and Tate felt like his body was not ready.

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Jessica McGowan / jmcgowan@ajc.com

Cartersville QB Donavan Tate is expected to be one of the top picks in next summer’s pro baseball draft.

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That led to a tough conversation with football coach Frank Barden. But after resting for a week, Tate had a change of heart.

“Donavan just loves the game of football; there’s no other way to explain it,” Barden said. “He loves the camaraderie of being part of the team, hanging with his childhood buddies after a tough practice and playing in the big moments of a game under the lights on Friday nights.”

Tate said once he had time to reflect, it was a no-brainer.

“I didn’t want to regret not playing my senior year when I get older,” he said. “And I didn’t want to let my teammates down. I had been playing with them since middle school, and this was our senior year, our last year together.”

No major-league ego

When Tate asked to get back his No. 32 purple jersey, he told Barden he would play wherever he was needed.

That was a major concession by Tate, who had been offered football scholarships at quarterback by Alabama, Michigan and North Carolina. It could have turned into an explosive situation at Cartersville — the team had moved on at the quarterback position — possibly damaging the program for years.

But Tate never made it an issue and won over his teammates with his willingness to play safety. And by the seventh game, he had earned back his spot at quarterback.

“I’ve never known Donavan to be a person who thinks of himself as above everybody else,” Barden said. “I think a lot of it goes back to his mom and how he was raised.”

A lot of fun on the run

Longtime followers of Cartersville football said they have never seen Tate smile or have as much fun as this season. Tate, who grew up with the program as a young ball boy, has been a fixture on the team’s sidelines for years.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great football player, one of the best to ever come out of Cartersville,” Barden said. “But in baseball, he’s one of the top young players in the world, and lot of pressure and expectations come with that.

“The same pressures don’t exist in football, and you can see he’s really enjoying playing the game this season.”

Tate has flourished at quarterback in four games, completing 41 of 64 passes for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception. Tate has 42 tackles and three interceptions at safety.

A solid backup plan

Many think that Tate’s final game for Cartersville will be his final football game. Baseball is waiting with big bucks.

But Tate said that decision has not been made, so he continues to participate in the recruiting process. He has taken an official visit to USC and has trips planned to North Carolina, Alabama and Michigan. He is leaning toward Georgia over LSU for his final visit.

Tate has connections to Georgia, where his father played football from 1984-87. The elder Tate, who lives in Atlanta, was also an accomplished baseball player in high school. He told Donavan if he had to do it all over again, he would choose baseball. He has advised his son to do the same.

But the younger Tate is studying all angles.

“If I have the opportunity to play both sports that I really love, then why not?” he asked. “College is only four years … I can do that.”