Undrafted free agent who never played college football inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame

After a 16-year career with the Chargers, both in San Diego and Los Angeles, Antonio Gates retired from the NFL in 2016 as one of the best tight ends in NFL history.

Earlier this month it was announced that Gates will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming one of few players without a background in college football to make it.

Gates was an undrafted free agent when he signed for the San Diego Chargers back in 2003. Across 16 years with a single franchise Gates helped to transform the role of tight end, arguably becoming a greater all-round threat than any other to have previously played the position.

His impact is evidenced in his 116 touchdown catches, the NFL record for a tight end. He was a crucial piece in the Chargers' end game, recording 93 red-zone touchdown catches from the 20-yard line onwards. His style influenced the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and even Rob Gronkowski, who paid tribute to Gates' impact.

“The guy has the most touchdowns ever by a tight end,” Gronkowski told Chargers.com. “Everyone knows me as the red-zone threat, and I still don’t even have as many touchdowns as Antonio Gates.”

“That speaks volumes right there because I wanted that record and I didn’t even come close to getting that record,” he continued. “I’m off by 24 touchdowns still to this day.”

Why didn’t Antonio Gates play college football?

As well as being one of the best tight ends, Antonio Gates is frequently cited as the best undrafted free agent in NFL history. He never played college football, but did have an impressed NCAA career.

In 1998 Gates enrolled at Michigan State, hoping to play football under Nick Saban and basketball under coach Tom Izzo, two of the biggest names in their respective sports. But that plan fell apart when Saban insisted that he wanted Gates to focus solely on football.

Gates thought otherwise, and opted to transfer to Eastern Michigan University to pursue a career in basketball. He spent a year at EMU before moving to the College of the Sequoias and then Kent State, impressing at the college level. He won two Mid-American Conference championships with the Kent State Flashes and was named in the All-MAC First Team for 2003.

Despite that impressive CV, the 6ft 4in power forward wasn’t considered enough of a specialist to make in the NBA. After getting knocked back by professional basketball, Gates arranged a work-out in front of NFL scouts and soon had several teams interested in arranging a try-out. Among them were the Chargers, who immediately recognised his potential, offered him a contract, and watched him develop into one of the best tight ends in NFL history.

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