Ben Tate Ben Tate ( born August 21 , 1988 ) is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He set several Maryland high school football records before being recruited to play football at Auburn . Early years . As a junior at Stephen Decatur High School , Tate set the Maryland state single - season rushing record with 2 , 886 yards and 25 touchdowns , averaging 221 . 4 yards per game . His performance earned him first - team all - state honors . As a senior year transfer at Snow Hill High School , he ran for 2 , 069 yards and 21 touchdowns , averaging 12 . 9 yards per carry while leading Snow Hill to a state runner - up finish . In 37 career games , Tate rushed 542 times for 5 , 920 yards and 78 touchdowns , averaging 10 . 9 yards per carry and 160 yards per game . He also had 210 career receiving yards . Tate also set the Maryland state records for both career yards rushing ( 5 , 920 ) and total career offensive yards ( 6 , 123 ) . For his senior performance , he was awarded the Gatorade State Player of the year and was a consensus all - state pick . He was ranked No . 6 nationally among running backs and the No . 5 player from the state of Maryland by Rivals . com . Upon graduation from Snow Hill High School , Tate received scholarship offers from Auburn , Florida , Penn State , Maryland , North Carolina and many more before accepting a scholarship to Auburn University . Ultimately , Tate chose Auburn because of its history of successful running backs . College . Freshman year . Tate played sparingly behind senior Kenny Irons , and gained 392 yards on 54 carries in 9 games . He received Freshman All - America Honorable Mention from The Sporting News . Ben ' s best game was a 156 yard performance against Tulane . Sophomore year . Tate ' s sophomore season was a strong one , leading the Tigers in rushing ( 903 yards on 202 carries for a 4 . 5 yard average ) and to a victory over Clemson in the Chick - fil - A Bowl . Junior year . Heading into his Junior campaign , Tate was named to several preseason All - SEC teams . However , because of new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin ( coach ) and his spread , pass - first style of offense , Tate ' s number ' s significantly declined . He gained only 664 yards on 159 carries . Senior year . As the feature back in Gus Malzahn ' s spread offense , Tate shined in his final college season . He gained 1 , 362 yards on 263 carries with 10 touchdowns . His top performance came against Arkansas , rushing for 184 yards and two touchdowns ( over 100 yards coming in the third quarter ) . Tate also earned AP second - team All - SEC honors , as well as being voted both the Team and Offense MVP award . Tate was also a semi - finalist for the Doak Walker Award . Tate also led Auburn to a victory over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl , rushing for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns in the overtime win . Tate finished at Auburn 5th on the career rushing list , behind Auburn greats Bo Jackson , Carnell Williams , James Brooks , and Joe Cribbs . He rushed for 3321 yards on 678 carries , scoring 24 touchdowns . Tate graduated in May 2009 with a degree in Criminology . Professional career . 2010 NFL Draft . Tate was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans . Most projected Tate to be picked somewhere in the early to middle of the second round , and recognizing his value at pick 58 , the Texans aggressively traded up to draft him . This is the only time in team history that the Texans have drafted a running back earlier than the third round . Houston Texans . Tate had high expectations to help a Texans running game that was one of the worst in the league the previous season , but during the Texans pre season opener in 2010 , Tate broke his ankle and was placed on injured reserve . Tate returned healthy for the 2011 season , but was initially placed fourth on the depth chart behind 2010 NFL rushing leader Arian Foster , Derrick Ward , and Steve Slaton . At the conclusion of the preseason , Tate was listed as the opening day backup to Ward due to a hamstring injury to Foster . In his NFL debut , Tate did not disappoint , rushing for 116 yards and his first NFL touchdown on 24 carries . He followed that performance the following week against the Miami Dolphins with another 100 - yard game , finishing with 103 yards on 23 carries . He finished the 2011 regular season with 942 rushing yards on 175 attempts ( a 5 . 4 yards - per - carry average , third - highest in the NFL ) with 4 rushing touchdowns and 98 total receiving yards in 15 games played , two of which he started ( Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints , and week 17 against the Tennessee Titans ) . Tate ran for 115 yards against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 while Arian Foster ran for 124 yards in the same contest , leading the Texans to 261 yards on the ground , a franchise record . Through 9 games played in the 2012 season , Ben Tate has amassed 255 rushing yards on 59 carries , averaging 4 . 3 yards per carry . While his per carry average remains formidable , his carries have been limited due to a competitive Houston Texan ' s backfield along with lingering injuries to his hamstring and foot . It has been a frustrating season for the young running back , who has been competing with emerging running back Justin Forsett for backup duties to Arian Foster .