Brandon Tate Brandon Tate ( born October 5 , 1987 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League . He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football at North Carolina . Early years and family . Tate attended Hugh M . Cummings High School in Burlington , North Carolina , where he played football as a wide receiver , kick returner , and defensive back and basketball as a guard . In basketball , he won a state title in his junior season . In his 2004 senior football season , Tate had 66 receptions and 18 touchdowns , earning All - Conference honors . Tate ' s brother , Barry , was a four - year letterwinner for Lenoir - Rhyne University in football . College career . Freshman Season . After graduating from high school in 2005 , Tate attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Tate was one of seven true freshman to see game time . Tate played in all eleven games as a kick returner . In the Tar Heels game against the Utah Utes , Tate returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown . Tate finished the season with 21 kick returns for 542 yards , and 29 punt returns for 267 yards . Tate finished 22nd in the country in kick off returns . In his freshman season , Tate finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in kick returns and third in punt returns . Sophomore Season . In his sophomore season , Tate was one of only three players in the country to return two kickoffs for touchdowns . Brandon Tate caught his first pass from Cameron Sexton , in the Tar Heels game against the Virginia Tech Hokies . The pass was for 13 yards , with the catch happening just before the end of the first half . In the Tar Heels ' game against Notre Dame , Tate returned a kick off 90 yards for a touchdown . Tate faked a pitch to teammate Quinton Person , and bolted down the field into the end zone . In the final game of the Tar Heels season , against Duke , Tate performed very well . With seventeen seconds remaining in the first half of the game , Tate returned a kick off 97 yards for a touchdown . That 97 yard return tied third longest return in North Carolina ' s history . Early in the fourth quarter , Tate returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown . Tate became the third person in North Carolina football history and the ninth player in NCAA history to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same game . Tate caught his first pass , a 17 yard reception , from Cameron Sexton . Junior Season . In the opening game of the season against James Madison , Brandon Tate caught his first touchdown pass of his career . Tate caught a 28 yard pass for his first catch of the season , as well as his first touchdown of his career . When North Carolina squared off against East Carolina , Tate returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown . This was Tate ' s fifth career return for a touchdown , which tied the school record ; which was held by Charlie Justice . In North Carolina ' s game against NC State , Brandon Tate recorded 168 all - purpose yards . He caught a 50 yard touchdown pass from Bobby Rome , a fullback , off of a flea flicker . In the Tar Heels ' games against Wake Forest and Miami , Tate had over 200 all - purpose yards . In the Heels ' game against Miami , Tate scored a 54 yard rushing touchdown off of a reverse . Tate set the ACC records for most all - purpose yards ( 2 , 382 yards ) and most kick off returns ( 98 ) during his junior season . Tate saw more time at wide receiver in his junior season in 2007 . Tate finished the season first in the ACC with 1 , 765 all - purpose yards ; he also led his team with seven touchdowns . Tate caught 25 passes for 479 yards , averaging 19 . 2 yards per catch . In addition to that , Tate caught five touchdown passes . Tate averaged 24 . 1 for kick off returns and 9 . 4 yards for punt returns . Senior Season . The Tar Heels were pitted against the McNeese State for their opening game of the collegiate football season . Tate dominated the game . In the first quarter of the game , Tate returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown . Shortly after the start of the second quarter , Tate rushed 54 yards , being tackled just three yards shy of the end zone . In the third quarter of the game , Tate caught a 57 yard pass from T . J . Yates and ran for a touchdown . Tate ended up rushing for 106 yards , becoming the first North Carolina wide receiver to have a hundred yard rushing game . Tate set a school record for most all - purpose yards in a game with 397 yards on just eleven touches . Tate also set the school record for highest punt return average in a game , with 47 . 3 yards per return ( 3 returns for 142 yards ) . In the Tar Heels ' game against Miami , Tate set the NCAA record for most combined kick off and punt return yards in a career , he finished the season with 3 , 523 yards to his name . Before the Tar Heels ' game against Notre Dame , Tate needed only 165 yards to become the eleventh player in NCAA history to reach 1 , 000 kick off return yards and 1 , 000 punt return yards . Tate returned a single punt for 9 yards , before leaving the game with a knee injury . Tate ended up tearing his ACL and MCL in his knee and missed the final seven games of the season . Tate also the ACC ' s all time leader in kickoff returns ( 109 ) and kickoff return yardage ( 2 , 688 ) . Professional career . New England Patriots . 2009 season . Tate was drafted by the Patriots in the third round ( 83rd overall ) of the 2009 NFL Draft . On July 16 , he was signed to a four - year contract with a $ 755 , 000 signing bonus . He began the 2009 season on the non - football injury list , still recovering from his knee injury from the prior season . He was activated on October 24 , in Week 7 . He played that week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a reserve , recording one rush ( an end - around ) for 11 yards . Two weeks later , following the team ' s bye week , Tate started against the Miami Dolphins but did not have any catches in the game . Tate suffered another knee injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve on November 14 , ending his season . He finished the season with 106 kickoff return yards . 2010 season . On September 12 , 2010 , in the Patriots ' season - opening game against the Cincinnati Bengals , Tate ran the opening second - half kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown . On October 4 , 2010 , Tate repeated the feat against the Miami Dolphins , this time returning the ball 103 yards . Tate scored his first career receiving touchdown on a 65 - yard catch against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 . He added a 42 - yard touchdown catch against the Dolphins in Week 17 . Tate played in 16 games , starting 10 . He caught 24 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns , and had 41 kick returns for 1 , 057 yards ( 25 . 8 yard average ) and two touchdowns . On September 3 , 2011 , the New England Patriots released Brandon Tate . Cincinnati Bengals . On September 4 , 2011 , the Cincinnati Bengals claimed Brandon Tate on waivers . On October 30 , 2011 , Brandon Tate returned a punt for a 56 yard Touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks , his first touchdown with the Bengals .