This story is the final part of a series on the Des Moines Register’s top 10 Iowa high school football seniors. Each week until the end of the season, we will feature a different senior, showing readers a side of them that goes beyond the Friday night lights.

IOWA CITY — Tate Wallace stands behind the offensive line near the end of an August practice and waits for the center to snap the ball.

He secures the football in his hands and takes a few half-hearted steps back before releasing it in the direction of one of Iowa City Regina's wide receivers.

During the season, Wallace splits time on both sides of the ball, lining up at tight end and linebacker —and he is more than successful in both those roles. In summer practices, though, Wallace sometimes gets to return to his roots — playing quarterback, just like he did in junior high.

It's a moment of fun in the lead-up to his final season of high school football.

On Friday nights, though, and in his approach to his college recruiting, Wallace is all business.

Tate Wallace's love of the game started early, and never stopped

Growing up with one older brother — Jack, a four-year starting quarterback at Iowa City West and a current sophomore on St. Thomas' squad — Wallace spent a lot of his time around sports.

He'd throw the ball around in the backyard with his older brother, and Wallace also developed a love for baseball and basketball.

"Every single day growing up, it was me and him, whether it be basketball in the driveway, wiffle ball on the front lawn or throwing routes in the backyard," Wallace said.

With an older brother — who Wallace described as his role model — laying the foundation, the younger of the two brothers was set up for success early in his high school career. And whether it was because he was playing at a smaller school or because of his burgeoning abilities, Wallace couldn't be stopped, even as a freshman.

He made it into the starting lineup for varsity, recording 430 receiving yards and three touchdowns on offense and 22.5 total tackles on defense in his first season of high school football.

"He's always been just a tough, physical kid that loves football," said head coach Dustin Elsbury. "I remember watching (him) play when he first got to play tackle football in seventh grade. He played quarterback on that team, and he was still bigger than everybody else, stronger than everybody else."

In his sophomore season, he contributed 752 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on offense and 27.5 total tackles on defense. In his junior year, Wallace recorded 611 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on offense and 49.5 total tackles – including 18 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks – on defense.

In his final season of high school football, he's helped Regina to an undefeated record through the eight-week regular season in Class 1A.

His statistics through those eight games show how important he is to his team on both sides of the ball — 37 total tackles, including 19 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble, 365 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns, 36 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and 10 pancake blocks.

Over three-and-a-half seasons, Wallace made a name for himself in Iowa high school football.

And even though he played for a smaller school, coaches across the country took notice.

Wallace's athletic abilities put him on radar of college coaches

On Oct. 19, 2024 — in the middle of his sophomore season — Wallace received his first Division I offer, this one coming from Miami (Ohio). He followed that up with an unofficial visit to Minnesota just over a month later, and then his recruitment slowed down.

He'd watched the recruiting process unfold for his older brother, and so Wallace understood he needed to stay patient and let his talent on the field speak for itself.

On May 14, 2025, he landed an offer from the Golden Gophers.

And that is when the floodgates opened.

Over the next year, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker added offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Eastern Michigan, Kansas State, Nebraska, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Notre Dame, Purdue, Tennessee, Toledo, UNLV, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Even as he piled on offers, though, one school stood out.

Including his trip in November 2024, Wallace took three unofficial visits to Minnesota. He attended a prospect camp early in his recruitment, and he took his official visit to the school after he announced his commitment to the Golden Gophers on May 10, 2026.

Despite collecting over a dozen Division I offers, two programs were noticeably absent from Wallace's list — Iowa and Iowa State.

That didn't change how Wallace felt about Minnesota, though.

"I wouldn't say too much," Wallace said when asked if he took the lack of in-state offers personally. "I'm just focused on Minnesota, and I'm glad that I'm in a great position to succeed there."

He doesn't mince his words when talking about Minnesota, but it's also difficult to get Wallace to reveal his full excitement about his college commitment.

That doesn't come as a surprise to his high school head coach, though.

For years, Elsbury watched Wallace handle himself with humility, and it's exactly what Regina's coach expected from one of his star players who, if he could help it, would stay completely out of the spotlight.

"He is so humble, and he has high aspirations," Elsbury said. "But he's pretty quiet, for the most part, and sometimes it's hard to get a lot of words out of him. He was getting a ton of attention at one point, and I think it was almost causing him some stress. He doesn't like being the 'look at me guy.'

"He wanted to find the best fit; he looked at where he had the best relationships with the coaches. And then he wanted to make his decision, be done with it and just enjoy his senior year with his high school teammates."

Wallace chose Minnesota because it was the right fit for him.

It also comes with the added benefit of being closer to his brother, Jack.

It's only about a 10-minute drive from Minnesota's Huntington Bank Stadium to St. Thomas' O'Shaughnessy Stadium, so the siblings will be just down the road from each other — after years of being separated by a few-hours-long car ride.

And since the two brothers never got to be in the same high school together, if there is one thing outside of football that Wallace is excited about, it's that he and Jack will be — almost — going to college together.

"(Jack) will be like 10-15 minutes away, just a couple of streets over," Wallace said. "I never got to be with my brother at the same high school, so being at almost the same college is going to be pretty fun for us."

One last run with Iowa City Regina football

Last season, Wallace helped the Regals to a runner-up finish in Class 1A, losing to West Lyon, 34-27, in the state championship game. It marked the furthest that his team had advanced during Wallace's career — after losing in the quarterfinals in his freshman and sophomore seasons.

With the regular season out of the way, there is only one guaranteed game remaining in Wallace's senior year. By the end of November, regardless of how far Regina advances, his athletic career at Regina will be complete — Wallace intends to forego his senior seasons in basketball, track and field, and baseball to enroll early at Minnesota.

The four-star linebacker wants one more shot at the state championship.