Antonio Gates

Vorlage:Infobox NFLactive Antonio D. Gates (born June 18, 1980 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American football tight end for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after giving up basketball after college. He attended college at Kent State.

College career

Before his rookie season of 2003, Gates had not played organized football since his senior year at Central High School in Detroit. While there, Gates led Detroit Central High School to a Class A state championship in basketball as a senior, and was a first-team all-state selection in football and basketball.

After high school, Gates was recruited by Michigan State to play linebacker. Gates wanted to play both football and basketball, but then coach Nick Saban wanted him to play only football. Basketball was his favorite sport, so after his first semester he transferred to Eastern Michigan University to play basketball. He played there for part of a season, subsequently ended up playing at two junior colleges, and then finally landed at Kent State University in northeast Ohio. Coming out of junior college, Gates originally committed to Fresno State, but he immediately flipped to Kent State when his former high school coach, Oronde Taliaferro, was hired as an assistant. Gates spent two seasons as the Golden Flashes starting power forward and led the team to a MAC championship and the Elite Eight in 2002 and to the MAC championship game the following season. Gates was Second Team All-MAC as a junior and a First Team All-MAC and an Honorable Mention All-American selection as a senior.

College basketball stats

Season	Team	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	APG	RPG	BPG	SPG
1999-2000	Eastern Michigan	18	24.2	10.2	51.8	16.7	58.2	1.3	7.4	0.7	1.0
2001-2002	Kent State	36	32.3	16.0	51.8	25.0	70.6	2.7	8.1	0.4	1.2
2002-2003	Kent State	31	33.2	20.6	47.8	34.9	70.9	4.1	7.7	0.2	1.5
Career	EMU/KSU	85	30.9	16.5	50.0	30.1	68.9	2.9	7.8	0.4	1.2

NFL career

San Diego Chargers

After being told by scouts that he was too much of a “tweener” (6′4″) to make the NBA, Gates arranged a workout in front of NFL scouts. As many as 19 teams were believed to have contacted Gates about a try out. Gates chose to work out first for the San Diego Chargers. Recognizing his enormous potential, the Chargers immediately signed him to a contract as an undrafted free agent.

After finishing a solid 2003 rookie season in which he caught 24 passes for 389 yards and two scores, he was picked by many experts to have a breakout season in 2004. That year, only his second season in the NFL, Gates became quarterback Drew Brees' favorite target, finishing the season with 81 receptions for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns. On December 19, Gates tied the NFL season record for touchdowns by a tight end (13) in a 21–0 win over the Cleveland Browns, and he went on to break that record in an overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on December 26. Gates was selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl and caught a TD pass from Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning to help the AFC to a 38–27 victory. Additionally, Gates was on the receiving end of a 33 yard pass from teammate Drew Brees in a flea-flicker play selected by fans online.

On August 23, 2005, after holding out for a contract extension, Gates inked a six-year deal worth up to $24 million with the San Diego Chargers. Because of his holdout, Gates was suspended one game the home opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Gates went on to have another stellar season, catching 89 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns, but the Chargers missed the playoffs by a slim margin.

With the departure of Drew Brees during the offseason, it was assumed that Gates would suffer a decline in production in 2006 with first-year starter Philip Rivers at the helm. Gates had a relatively quiet start to the season, but he finished the year strongly and ended up with 924 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He caught two touchdown passes on December 10 against Denver to help the Chargers clinch their division.

2008

Gates has said he is leaning toward having surgery to repair a dislocated left big toe that slowed his performance during the playoffs. Gates said he will decide whether to have surgery or not. "There is higher chance I'm going to have surgery." said Gates. Gates also pulled out of his 5th Pro Bowl selection because of his injuries alongside his teammate LaDainian Tomlinson. Gates finished the season with 60 receptions for 704 yards and 8 touchdowns.

On February 23, 2008, Gates said he would have foot surgery to fix the injury that has hurt him in the final part of the season. He would face a 4-6 month recovery time. He seemed questionable for Week 1 and even sounded worried about his status for Opening day, however he ended up playing every game despite complaints that his toe was bothering him some during the first half of the season.

Facts and records

• Since 2004, only former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens have caught more touchdowns than Gates.
• In 2005 and 2006 Antonio Gates was selected as the NFL's All-Pro tight end.
• Gates also holds the single season touchdown reception record for tight ends with 13.
• Gates appeared as himself in the November 18, 2009 episode of The League.

Regular season stats

			Receiving
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Y/R	TD
2003	San Diego	11	24	389	16.2	2
2004	San Diego	15	81	964	11.9	13
2005	San Diego	15	89	1101	12.4	10
2006	San Diego	16	71	924	13.0	9
2007	San Diego	16	75	984	13.1	9
2008	San Diego	16	60	704	11.7	8
Career	San Diego	73	400	5,066	12.7	51

External links

• Official NFL Players' Page: Antonio Gates
• San Diego Chargers Player Bio: Antonio Gates
• Pro-Reference-Football.com Stats: Antonio Gates
• ESPN.Com Kent State basketball statistics