Second Year Running Back Ben Tate Looking to Make an Impact for Texans

Update: Profootballtalk.com relays a report that Arian Foster pulled his hamstring, no mention of how much time he could possibly miss is mentioned.

The Houston Texans boast the league’s leading rusher in Pro Bowler Arian Foster. In 2008, their leading rusher was Steve Slaton, who still is part of the stable of backs for Gary Kubiak’s squad. Derrick Ward also is part of a very skilled backfield, but one player who never gets any attention nowadays is second year player Ben Tate.

Why does Ben Tate matter and why doesn’t he get any attention?

Well, Tate was a second round pick last year but blew out his knee before he could make an impact on the Texans (probably for the best, re: Arian Foster). Tate was reportedly having a great training camp last year and was looking like he could be a real gem before he got a dose of reality and missed his rookie campaign.

Now, Tate is reporting to training camp fully healthy and he has an uphill battle ahead of him. Still, if he is going to succeed in the NFL, Kubiak’s system is probably the best fit for him, or at least something similar. You have to wonder if Tate is to have another good offseason whether or not the Texans will keep around a guy like Derrick Ward or Steve Slaton after the pre-season.

“He’s in a battle,” Kubiak said of Tate. “He’s working as a fourth guy right now and that’s a humbling experience. You come out here after you miss all last year (and) it’s a very competitive situation, and we’ve got a nice problem back there. So we’ll see how it works out.”

The Texans figure to have one of the NFL’s top rushing attacks once again this year, with three thousand yard backs and a second year player who had high expectations coming out of Auburn, where he ran for more than a thousand yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior before proclaiming himself the best back in the nation.

Tate’s combination of size, speed, and youth should earn him a spot on Houston’s roster, and he will have to work to earn carries, but the Texans have to be really happy about their running back position from top to bottom.