A year ago at this time, Maurice Tate was posing for pictures at the Mr. Football banquet in Birmingham. Now, he is reflecting upon his first year at Alabama State and trying to figure out his plan to make a considerable impact in his sophomore season.

“It was real different,” Tate said of his first year at ASU. “I had to get used to the speed of the game.” Tate entered the season hoping to earn the starting middle linebacker job, losing out in the end to a senior.

“I know I had a good summer,” Tate said of his preseason workouts before reflecting on all that he has learned during his freshman year. “I learned a little bit from (the outgoing seniors) and a whole lot from the coaches.”

Moreover, Tate believes he has improved physically since his high school career ended.

“I know I’ve gotten faster,” Tate said. “I know I’ve gotten stronger, smarter, picked up on the little things, gotten to where I pay more attention to detail.”

Now the former Linden standout is focused on making his team better and helping it to make a run at the SWAC title.

“We can be real good, the freshman and sophomore class can be real good,” Tate said.

“We’ve got a good group of guys who want to win, know how to win, came from winning programs. We’ve got leaders. It starts as soon as we go back (after Christmas break). That offseason is what I think will get us over the hump.”