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Ute football: Utes' Tate undecided on tryout with NFL's Bucs
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Steve Tate's cell phone rings consistently with calls of congratulations and friends as they hear he was picked up by Tampa Bay as a free agent.

But they might want to hold off on those calls for a bit longer.

Tate, the former standout safety at Utah, hasn't decided if he will pursue a pro career or if it's time to venture into the "real world."

Tate has been offered a three-day tryout by Tampa Bay that doesn't come with any signing bonus or contract. To get there, he'll have to pay his way. Utah receiver Derrick Richards was offered the same deal by the Bucs. Others who have drawn offers as free agents are DE Martail Burnett (Minnesota), OL Jason Boone (New Orleans), DT Gabe Long (Houston).

It wasn't exactly the kind of decision Tate thought he'd have to make, after entertaining thoughts of being drafted in a late round or having several teams offer free agent contracts.

"I was expecting some calls and they never came," he said.

Another tryout doesn't sound that appealing to Tate, who is contemplating a future in financial planning so he can provide for his growing family. His wife, Savanna, is due in two months.

"A lot of things would be different if I were single, I'd jump at it," he said. "At this point in my life it's tough to drop everything for no promises. It could be a dead-end road and I could be doing the same thing four months from now."

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