Kaelin Tate did not receive an offer to play college football at Grand Valley State while on a visit to Allendale. Either he or someone close to him made sure to let the world know he was denied in a post that has since gone viral on social media.
The Class of 2027 recruit posted about the snub in a mocking fashion.
The post from Tate’s account creates an interesting dialogue about high school football and recruiting. Does it come across as disrespectful and ungrateful? Or is it a harmless joke? I lean more toward the latter.
Who is Kaelin Tate?
Tate is currently finishing the second semester of his junior year at Paw Paw High School. He is set to graduate next May.
Paw Paw High School enrolls less than 700 students in Grades 9-12. Paw Paw is a small town of ~3,500 residents located in the southwestern corner of Michigan, approximately 20 miles west of Kalamazoo.
Tate plays on both sides of the ball, but mostly on defense. The Redskins compete on the Division 4 level of high school football in the Wolverine State. They finished last season at 6-4.
Although Kaelin Tate does not project as an FBS or FCS athlete, the 6-foot-0, 175-pound safety will likely have the opportunity to play college football on a lower tier of the sport. Despite an injury, he finished with 23 total tackles, one interception, eight pass breakups and two tackles for loss in only four games.
The Class of 2027 recruit carries an impressive 3.92 GPA. He also earned First Team All-Conference honors on the hardwood as well as on the gridiron.
However, Tate would like to play football in college. That is the ultimate goal.
Grand Valley State did not offer him a scholarship to play college football.
Grand Valley State University competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Lakers made the playoff in 18 of the last 27 years, as recently as 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. They won Division II national titles in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. This year’s roster will close out the spring practice period with their annual spring game on Saturday.
Kaelin Tate took a visit to campus over the weekend. He did not leave with an offer.
It is very typical for a college football recruit to post a photo from his visit to campus and to thank the coaching staff for an offer. Tate (or the person that runs his social media) went the opposite direction.
This post has created a dialogue on social media. Tate (or the person that runs his social media) meant this post in jest. He has to work harder to earn his offers. He is ready for the grind!
Jokes are meant to be funny. This one fell short of the mark. I think it’s the tongue.
The post comes across like Tate is mocking the coaches who did not offer him. Even if it wasn’t intended in that way, it reads ungrateful. Feels like of those things where, if you need one back-end roster guy and it comes down to him or another guy… it’s off-putting. It is a MAJOR red flag as a coach if it was a parent or guardian who made this post on his behalf.