By Tom Quinn

When the Utes run out of the tunnel at Romney Stadium in front of thousands of Aggie fans, Steve Tate is likely to experience a little dj vu. After all, he has run out onto that field almost a dozen times by now. Tate, a key member of Utah’s secondary, spent his freshman year in the Aggies’ defensive backfield, logging time at free safety. A phenomenal athlete and an accomplished option quarterback out of Skyline High School, there were even rumors that he would eventually move to offense and become “the guy” under center.But before the quarterback hearsay could be either proven or dispelled, Tate left the world of football behind while serving a two-year LDS mission. And in the world of collegiate sports, an awful lot can happen in two years.While Tate was out of both the country and the loop, Utah and Utah State underwent regime changes, and the arrival of Urban Meyer in Salt Lake City made Tate think twice about heading back to Logan.”Utah seemed to me like a program on the rise,” Tate said. “I talked to Coach Whittingham, and he said that if I paid my first year here at the U I could get a scholarship after that.”As a redshirt in 2004, Tate was on hand to see the Utes walk all over the Aggies in a blowout victory at Utah State. But because he never stepped on the field, the game could hardly be considered memorable.”A few of the fans recognized me and gave me a hard time, but that was about it,” Tate said.Now, nearly five years after he last played a down as an Aggie, Tate is headed back to Logan. This time, however, he is hell-bent on making life difficult for USU quarterback Leon Jackson III.Perhaps the biggest challenge that Tate and company will face this weekend will be the temptation to overlook the Aggie offense, a unit that has yet to score a touchdown in 2006.”We’re treating this like we would any other game,” Tate said. “They have some real talent on the offensive side of the ball. Any of their wide receivers is capable of making a big play.”A sprained knee sustained in the Utes’ season opener against UCLA nearly put Tate’s homecoming in jeopardy, but a week’s rest has him back on his feet and itching to make up for the time he missed in last week’s game against Northern Arizona.”I’m about 100 percent right now, so hopefully I’ll be able to get this brace off soon,” Tate said. “It’s just a precaution. I’m not trying to make a fashion statement here.”Although his return to USU as a member of the opposing team could easily be seen as a grudge-match of sorts, Tate insists that the thought never crossed his mind.”I have a lot of good memories from up there,” he said. “Besides, all of the people that I knew in Logan have already moved on. Seriously, that was five years ago.”Tate may not harbor any ill will toward the Aggies, but their fans are likely to take his return personally, especially once they start thinking about how good he would look were he still wearing navy and white.