Tate Collier Ratledge (born April 26, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

, where he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and a two-time national champion. He was selected by the Lions in the second round of the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

Ratledge was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, and grew up in

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...

. He is the son of Dean Ratledge, a coach for over 40 years. He attended

Darlington School Darlington School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Rome, Georgia. It was founded in 1905. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and is divided into a Pre-K to 8 division and an Upper Sc ...

, where he competed in football, basketball and track and field. Coming out of high school Ratledge was ranked the number 39 overall player in the 2020 class, the number five rank at his position and number six in the state of Georgia. Ratledge committed to play

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

over

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, whom he grew up rooting for.

College career

As a freshman in 2020, Ratledge (#51) played in just one game, playing a total of seven snaps. He earned a starting spot as a sophomore ahead of the season opener against Clemson, but suffered a Lisfranc ligament fracture in a foot after just four snaps and missed the rest of the season. In the 2022 season, Ratledge started 14 of the team's 15 games, only missing one game against

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He also got a start in the Bulldogs' two playoffs games, including in the

2023 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship (officially known as the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2023, ...

. Ratledge was ranked the seventh best returning interior offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus ahead of the 2023 season. Ratledge was named preseason first-team all-SEC. Ratledge was also named to the watchlists of multiple awards, such as the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

and the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

Professional career

Ratledge was selected in the second round with the 57th overall pick of the

by the

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratledge, Tate 2001 births Living people Players of American football from Rome, Georgia American football offensive guards Darlington School alumni Georgia Bulldogs football players Detroit Lions players