Timeout with Golden Tate
By BRYAN MULLEN
Staff Writer
Golden Tate is the golden boy of high school football in Middle Tennessee. The Pope John Paul II running back, who also stars in baseball, is regarded as the 9th-best prep football athlete in the nation, according to Rivals.com, and the second-best college football prospect in Tennessee. The senior has drawn serious interest from almost every SEC school, as well as Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. He sat down this week with The Tennessean's Bryan Mullen to discuss football, the craziness of recruiting, sweet tea, Tom Sawyer, and other things.
On how he got his first name, Golden.
"I got it from my father. He's Golden Tate II, I'm the third. It just happened to be my dad's father's name, and it's been passed down. People always ask if it's my nickname and I always say no. They ask if my brother's name is silver, platinum or copper. I just laugh at it now. I've heard that more than 100 times."
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On the stress of being a top college recruit.
"Right now it's not very stressful because I'm making sure I focus on school and my team. That comes before me figuring out where I'm going to college. But I do have caller ID, and if I see another area code that isn't my dad's or other family, I ignore it. I do that mostly when I'm doing homework or am busy. I'll get about three calls a night and sometimes they call at about 9:30 p.m. I'll just act sleepy."
On whom he roots for when Vanderbilt plays Tennessee.
"Definitely, definitely Vandy. I love underdogs and Vandy is closer than UT is. I can't think back that far to when I was an underdog, but I know as a school we were. I can relate."
So where is he going?
"I have six colleges I really like, but I really don't know. I haven't taken any official visits yet. I'm just trying to worry about high school right now."
