Despite Iowa football being in the lulls of the college football offseason, former Iowa football quarterback Drew Tate showed off his new Canadian Football League (CFL) Grey Cup ring on Sunday. He was a part of the Toronto Argonauts’ coaching staff as an offensive assistant last season.
This is Tate’s third Grey Cup title and first as a coach. Tate won two Grey Cups as a player, one in 2007 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and another in 2014 with the Calgary Stampeders.
Tate joined the Argonaunts’ coaching staff in March 2024 after numerous position coaching duties at schools such as Coastal Carolina, University of Tennessee-Martin and Northern Iowa, as well as the CFL’s BC Lions.
When the Argonauts received their championship rings on Sunday night, Tate proudly displayed the intricate design on his finger as the former Hawkeye continued to add to his winning resume.
Tate played quarterback with Iowa from 2003-06, finished his Hawkeyes career with 8,292 passing yards on 665-of-1,090 completions for 61 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in 41 games. He also recorded 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The native of Baytown, Texas, earned All-Big Ten Conference first-team (coaches) and second-team (media) status in the 2004 season, in which the Hawkeyes finished as Big Ten co-champions with a 10-2 record and a Capital One Bowl victory.
The highlight of his Iowa tenure was his 2005 Capital One Bowl MVP performance. He passed for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 20-for-32 attempts. His day was capped by a miraculous game-winning 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway as time expired to vault the Hawkeyes to a shocking 30-25 win over No. 12 LSU.
Given the 2025 CFL season began this past weekend, and the college football and NFL seasons are just around the corner, more Iowa football alumni could earn championship hardware sooner rather than later.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Former Iowa football quarterback shows off new championship ring
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
