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The Weight of The Dream: Trevon Tate’s Story of Faith, Setbacks, and the Relentless Pursuit of The Boy Who Always Knew
- Christina Winnegar
- 2 days ago
- 11 min read
By Christina Winnegar
Dreams manifest under the stadium lights, but for Trevon, it didn’t begin there. Times before the pressure of the dream came to fruition, the field was blank. He was nothing more than a young boy, wearing a helmet, with his eyes closed, visualizing the room that felt as big as a stadium to him, unaware that it would soon become his tangible future. Before talks of being on a team were even a thought, football had already managed to wrap itself around his imagination. His path, born in childhood innocence, carried him through the pain of injury, the politics of recruitment, and silence. Years later, with the weight of the armor he’s worn both on and off the field, that same dream now carries him into his final shot at chasing the life he has always imagined.
For every great story of grind and gratitude, there is a meaningful moment or person that shapes everything for them. For Trevon, it was his godfather.
Moving in with him at ten years old taught him not only to envision his love for the game but also taught him how to live it. The structure, work ethic, and toughness he didn’t just preach; he lived them. “He showed me what hard work and dedication are,” he said. And Trevon watched closely.
The hustle continued, fueled by the lessons he watched through his own eyes growing up.
His journey's hunger for growth started casually, with Sunday runs at East Field, where Trevon and his cousins would run alongside grown men twice their size. They’d let him tag along, but not for long; it soon became a realization. He wasn’t there to watch on the sidelines; he belonged in the game.
Although he was still years away from putting on pads, these recreational games, meant for family bonding, became tests along the way. Continuously driving him further down his field of dreams. No whistles. No recruitment pressure. No highlight reels. Just a kid proving his gift for the game.
When the time rolled around for Trevon to join leagues, there were no such things as growing pains. He was already playing up, mentally, physically, and competitively.
What began as pretend football with a helmet and playing pickup games with his family on Sundays rapidly turned into reality. He was no longer modeling the older players; he was outperforming them.
At the beginning of his teenage years, Trevon began playing flag football with his goddad, along with grown men, many with college, and even professional experience within the game. In one of his earliest games, he scored four touchdowns. Despite his goddad being the quarterback, the spotlight belonged to Trevon. “I just remember dominating…just to go out there at 14 years old and dominate like that…I knew that I had a real chance,” he said.
The confidence wasn’t without intention: it was built upon results. Before high school, Trevon had a long list of credentials, but the majority of players don’t experience it until much later on in their careers, if at all. Even when he played quarterback in his Little League, he went on to break the rushing league record, all without throwing a single touchdown pass. It was all in the way the turf grounded him. All instinct. All heart.
Even in the time spent away from the field, he was always finding ways to remain one with the game. Spending hours dominating Madden, crafting scenarios in which he was already living the reality of his dream. “Playing Madden when I was younger…just creating myself in the game, and feeling like I was a part of the NFL already,” he recalled. To others, it might’ve seemed like a kid being a kid. But with Trevon’s character, it was all a play into what was to come.
Dissimilar to all of his early successes, Trevon’s high school career was a reminder that talent alone doesn’t guarantee opportunity. The silence sometimes allows skills to cultivate, to continue to foster, turning skill into something unimaginable.
Starting at Central Tech, playing strictly defense, wasn’t what he had imagined. However, he stayed patient, trusting the process. Then came the shift, combining all of the high schools, creating the now Erie High. Trevon no longer commanded attention. Going from the loudest voice in a quiet room to a faint whisper in a sold-out stadium.
That changed in Week 7.
Moving to defensive back late in the season, he made it impossible to overlook him. Picking off five passes in five games, including one in the District 10 Championship against a powerhouse like McDowell. Erie won that title by a single point.
“I remember just getting that opportunity my sophomore year, and I felt good, I felt confident, but that was DB,” he stated.
Following this high came junior year, and with it, the injury that nearly changed everything. Juggling playing quarterback and DB, Trevon separated his AC joint nearly two weeks into the season. The timing was unforgiving. Interest from schools like Iowa and Northern Illinois had begun to build as he showcased his growing talent. But as soon as he was labeled injured, it went quiet.
Very quiet.
“That was very challenging… Little did I know that was only the start of those kinds of backtracking events happening in my life,” he reflected.
With his arm out of commission and in recovery, he focused on training his legs, focusing on footwork, and showing up even when he wasn’t snapping the ball. With time, the pain subsided, and he debuted his return to the turf just in time to finish out the final two games. Ending the season strong with over a hundred rushing yards and a touchdown, against a major opponent, the team that ultimately went to the state championship.
That off-season, he didn’t rest; he tirelessly pushed to rebuild.
“I dedicated my whole summer to just training for football…I knew that this had to be a big year for me, and it was one of my last opportunities,” Trevon said.
In his final year, Trevon delivered the unspoken promises to himself and the turf. He racked up over 1,000 rushing yards, 800+ passing yards, 28 total touchdowns, and more than 2,000 all-purpose yards, factoring in returns and receptions. But despite the numbers, the D1 offers he wished for still weren’t coming in, at least not for offense. Coaches wanted him on defense.
However, Trevon knew better. That senior season confirmed what he had always felt. He wasn’t meant to react to plays; he was meant to make them. College was meant to be the catalyst. Instead, it became a crash course in patience, pain, and perseverance.
Trevon committed to Mercyhurst, a Division II program with solid competition and a chance to keep developing in an offensive position. However, in line with his story, this didn’t come easily. He had to prove himself in practice, fight for his way into the rotation, and wait longer than desired to touch the field. This was hard but manageable in his eyes, a problem that could be untangled with hard work, a method he was familiar with. What came next in his story hit harder.
Right when things were finally starting to click, Trevon suffered a Jones fracture, a break in his foot that would put him in the shadow on the sidelines again. Another opportunity slipping through his fingers, another season gone before it ever truly started.
“So when I finally felt like it was my time to have that big year, came the Jones fracture, and it kind of set me back. And that was mentally challenging too, because it’s like, setback after setback,” he recalled.
Despite the familiar feeling, Trevon refused to sit in the negativity.
“Mentality is like… You can’t focus on the negative stuff, especially in a situation like that. So I just tried to think positively and realize, okay, I can get this season back from a redshirt, and it doesn’t count towards me that way,” he expressed.
While he went through the grueling process of healing an injury again, he never stopped with his can-do mindset. He continued to sharpen his mind. He poured time into film, studying other wide receivers, and found ways, no matter how small, to grow while his body recovered.
For Trevon, football has never been just a game; it’s been a lifestyle.
Then came the moment that could’ve broken his spirit.
After transferring from Mercyhurst and committing to Clarion University, he was still recovering and trying to figure out the next step in pursuing a Division I career when he received the news. Mercyhurst was going to upgrade to Division I.
Not only was this tough news to process alone, but it also came with a lot of noise. “I had a lot of people who were at school with me, kind of mocking me. I had people prank calling me and stuff like that. It was kind of crazy,” Trevon recalled. At that moment, it would’ve been easy to quit. To lose focus. To let his mind drift toward the idea of having a backup plan. But he never did. Trevon looked inward and forward.
“It was a lot on me mentally…especially because I’ve always dreamed of playing Division I football. And then the school I was just at, transferring up… that took a toll on me, kind of. But the same thing — I just had to be grateful for the situation I was in. I was still playing college football at the end of the day. It’s not a lot of people that get to do that,” he expressed.
Rather than dwelling on what he couldn’t control, he kept working, kept believing. And when Clarion finally gave him a shot, he took it without looking back.
Clarion proved Trevon could lead an offense. The stats spoke for themselves. Ranking 7th in the nation at the D-2 level in receiving yards per game and 8th in total receiving yards. The tapes showed it. But even after having a standout season, providing Clarion with an answer to the explosive offense they were in search of, he knew his journey wasn’t finished. Deep down, that little boy with the helmet on the blanket still wanted to chase something bigger. Division I still mattered.
When he entered the portal for the second time, Trevon wasn’t walking in with question marks anymore; he was walking in with proof. He let the numbers do the talking. And this time, schools were tuning in.
Tennessee-Martin was next on the list. However familiar to the rest of Trevon’s journey, the transfer did not come easily. He was faced with yet another adversity off the field, one, according to the Ohio Valley Conference, that made him ineligible to play. After countless phone calls to receive the credit waiver needed to get him back on the sidelines, Trevon had had enough. He walked into the compliance office and refused to walk out until they provided him with what he needed to be where he belonged.
Though his time spent there was short-lived, he left with fulfillment. Taking the practice film from the spring into his third time entering the portal, it began circulating. “I dominated in the spring at UTM as well…And I had all that film, so I was posting that and just showing, I can produce,” Trevon says. Coaches were beginning to see more than they ever had before. The film leaves a lasting impression.
Across each chapter of his journey, the unwavering presence of Trevon’s agency played a big factor in getting to the destination he’s dreamed of. Working tirelessly behind the scenes to help him navigate the transfer portal, credit evaluations, and the compliance issues that often derail careers. Their support, combined with the commitment of UTEP, led him right where his path had been pointing all along.
Finally, after all of the consistency, perseverance, and more importantly, the chances Trevon took on himself, the call finally came from his current home, UTEP. “They shot an offer quick without even knowing, like, the situation that I was in. I didn’t even know myself,” he expresses.
However, what mattered more than any offer was what followed: consistency. While other schools faded or dragged their feet during his eligibility process, UTEP’s drive to make a spot for him on their roster never wavered. “Through that whole situation, they stayed consistent… They stayed by my side and tried to help me figure things out, as well as letting me know that I was needed in the program,” Trevon shared.
As a result of all of the hours, the dedication, and the sacrifices, UTEP finally gave him what he had been chasing for all along: a platform. One to prove what he could do, not despite his path, but because of it.
With Trevon’s arrival at UTEP, he wasn’t showing up as just a wide receiver. He was a seasoned voice, a leader, a man of his faith, and the kind of teammate who doesn’t just show up on the screen; he shows up for people.
Years in the game, along with the shadows on the sidelines, gave him perspective. He’s seen just about everything in his career thus far: injuries, comebacks, transfers, and doubted dreams.
However, Trevon’s pursuit of football isn’t just about his successes; it’s proving something much more profound, to himself, to his support system, to the silent supporters, wondering if it’s still worth chasing the thing they love.
He is quite the opposite of shy when it comes to his goals, writing them down, speaking them out loud, and living by these mantras every single day. The dream of playing in the NFL isn’t just a fantasy; it’s a routine. Woven into the simplest ways of life, how he wakes up, trains, and makes his way through the world.
“Literally, it’s everything to me… I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Obviously, if you look at my journey, you know that I’m not scared to take necessary risks… to put myself in uncomfortable situations,” Trevon expressed.
There is no Plan B for Trevon, not implying he lacks perspective, but instead meaning he’s fully committed to Plan A. And that commitment had carried him through things that many would’ve walked away from when confronted with. The multiple injuries, transfers, lost opportunities, and noise met with silence.
True in his character, it is not just about reaching the league; it is also about paying tribute to the people who have always supported him. Trevon often mentioned his family, wanting to be a light for them. And for anyone else with a complicated journey who may believe their setbacks disqualify them from a comeback.
Trevon’s story began on a blanket. A little boy, a helmet gifted, the vision that felt bigger than his mind could imagine. Not knowing what it would take, the trials and tribulations that he’d have to learn to navigate, but he always knew who he wanted to be when he laced up his cleats.
And now, all these years later, he’s still chasing that same version of himself. Only now the helmet fits, the field is real, and the stakes are everything.
His journey did not lead him here by accident. He is here because he never stopped showing up for the grind, his teams, and his younger self. Every obstacle he faced didn’t test his will, but sharpened him. Digging deeper into his love for the game.
The kind of commitment that comes with Trevon’s mentality might scare some people, but not him. Because even if draft day comes and he doesn’t get that call, he’s prepared to reshape and revise in any way to be in that stadium, with “Tate” jerseys filling the stands someday.
But first, he’s going to give everything he has to this season, his last chance, because the goal has never, and will never, change.
The weight of the dream remains, but the helmet still fits just fine.
Disclaimer: The thoughts, experiences, and opinions shared in this article are solely those of Trevon Tate and are based on his personal journey. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any organizations, sponsors, or institutions with which Trevon may be associated with.
To ensure accuracy and maintain context, Trevon Tate and Nilson Sports reviewed this article before publication. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material is strictly prohibited. For any inquiries or concerns regarding this article, please contact info@hazzemedia.com
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