Chargers' Antonio Gates is destined to be the best tight end

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It's always been about getting the ball in his hands.

slicing through the defense to find open space,Antonio Gates had a knack for it — getting open and catching it. Seeing it in the air,Authentic Jason Witten Jersey, and using his bulk and strength to create just enough space to go up and grab it.,Authentic Travis Frederick Jersey,'

But the man who’ll soon be the highest-scoring tight end in NFL history wasn’t as interested in catching passes as he was in coming off down screens,womens Zack Martin Jersey, stepping back for jumpers or tapping home rebounds.

” said Drew Brees, really, as just a basketball player,Authentic Emmitt Smith Jersey>,“He came in, one of Gates’ first quarterbacks in the NFL. “His transformation into becoming a NFL tight end is amazing.”Authentic Dak Prescott Jersey,

The transformation will reach its zenith when Gates catches his next touchdown — the 112th of his career. It’ll give him one more than Tony Gonzalez, making the Chargers star the most productive tight end in league history.Authentic Cole Beasley Jersey,'

maybe even more amazing,And, Gates' transformation from "just a basketball player" to football revolutionary happened when he learned to stop fighting his past and embrace the things that made him different from everyone who had played tight end before him.'Authentic Zack Martin Jersey,

where he’d play for both Nick Saban (football) and Tom Izzo (basketball). Saban, Gates looked for the right fit until he landed at Kent State, didn’t want him to play basketball, so Gates transferred.womens Emmitt Smith Jersey,' From Eastern Michigan to a pair of junior colleges,The Antonio Gates story — the bones of it — isn’t a secret. He was a two-sport star in Detroit and chose to attend Michigan State, convinced Gates would someday be a first-round draft pick, where he played basketball for a former Izzo assistant,Authentic Nolan Carroll JerseyStan Heath.

Gates led his team to the 2002 Elite Eight before losing to the eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up Indiana. Then,Authentic Tyron Smith Jerseybut because he was a 6-foot-4 power forward,womens Travis Frederick Jerseyas a senior,In his first year at Kent State, he averaged 20 points a game,womens Sean Lee Jerseyhis post-graduate options were limited.

Luckily, the scouts remembered he used to play football.womens Dak Prescott Jersey,

made the team, and in Week 8 hauled in a Doug Flutie pass for his first career touchdown.womens Tyron Smith Jersey, Fourteen years and 110 touchdown receptions later,He signed with the Chargers in 2003 as an undrafted free agent, Gates is on the cusp of history.womens Cole Beasley Jersey,

who threw 23 of those touchdowns to Gates,Brees, saw him at his rawest during his rookie season and remembers how he'd drive coaches crazy with his instincts — most of which came from his first love of basketball.'womens Jason Witten Jersey

it was really kind of revolutionary. Nobody was doing that; no one was really teaching that. When he'd do it in practice, posting up and the same type of moves. The way he'd get open on the court is the way he'd get open as a tight end," Brees said. "In the beginning,"He said at one point it clicked for him — he was going to play tight end like he played basketball, he'd get yelled at.womens Nolan Carroll Jersey,

"And,'Authentic Sean Lee Jersey, now he's the standard."