Fred Tate Rumored to Be Front Runner For Texas Tech Defensive Line Job

After the expected departure of Texas Tech Red Raider defensive line coach Terry Price, Coachingsearch.com is reporting that Texas Tech and Tommy Tuberville will be looking to Marshall defensive line coach Fred Tate. Tech is looking to improve on one of the worst rush defenses in school history that gave up an astounding 258 yards a game last season. Any improvement to this statistic must start with Tate, and the defensive line.

According to Herdzone.com Tate came to Marshall having served as the defensive line coach for the previous two seasons at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Prior to UTC, Tate served as an assistant coach under Jeff Bower at Southern Miss where he coached defensive tackles and outside linebackers.

Marshall University Head Football Coach Doc Holliday said of Tate that, "Fred has great ties to Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Georgia and he is an excellent defensive coach that has experience coaching both the line and linebackers, he has served in the Army Airborne and he will be a great role model for our team."

For Red Raider fans, Tate sounds like a good fit, with plenty of experience and recruiting skills to make a big contribution to the program.