Back in the day Gates was relatively uninterested in football. Didn't play until his junior year of high school and because of the late start only received one offer from Long Beach State and that was kind of a flier scholarship just because Gates had the build to play defensive back. Originally more interested in music, the drive to play football wasn't always quite there. When getting to campus everything changed because the stakes were raised. There's one game that really changed the trajectory of Gates' career and that was in a homecoming game freshman year. Not the team's #1 corner at this point yet, the team was holding on to a 2 point lead late in the 4th quarter with the opponent starting to drive. Gates comes out because it's a heavy receiver set. The ball is snapped and the QB going through his progressions thinks he has a good matchup over Gates. And it turns out that was a lie. Gates jumps in front of the pass and comes down with the ball. The defense and coaching staff are ecstatic and the game has been sealed. From that point Gates was consistently in the starting lineup for the remainder of his Long Beach State career.
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