Director of New MediaWhat a night for Kent State alumni.
Four former Golden Flashes were on the field in San Diego tonight – James Harrison, Dri Archer and Roosevelt Nix for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Gates for the San Diego Chargers.
It was the future hall of fame tight end who made the early headlines in his first game back this season. Gates put the Chargers ahead in the first quarter when he caught the 100th touchdown pass of his career. That made him just the second player at his position to secure his 100th touchdown.
Whenever I look through our archives for a photo of Antonio, I always seem to grab one of the shots from the Sweet 16 victory over Pittsburgh. Ironically, Gates' big night came against another team from the steel city. He grabbed touchdown No. 101 in the second half, completing a nine-catch, 92-yard night.
It was a different KSU alum who had a hand in the game-winning score, however. Roosevelt Nix was the lead blocker for Le'Veon Bell on the Steelers' daring final play at the gun.
It's amazing how many undrafted former Kent State players have made it in the NFL playing roles that are completely different from the ones they filled during their college days.
Gates was, of course, a basketball player at KSU before chasing his NFL dream as a tight end. I was a sportswriter covering the Flashes back then, and what some might not remember was that Gates had a shot to make it in the league playing yet another position. The Ravens and Colts were the very first teams to show an interest in Gates and visit Kent. I talked with the Ravens scout during that visit, and he liked Gates as a linebacker. Remember, Gates was a defensive player when he was recruited to Michigan State. Former Flashes head football coach Dean Pees had Gates at defensive end for Kent State during a brief period at spring practice at the end of his junior year.
Nix was a defensive lineman at Kent State before making the switch to fullback to make the Steelers roster this year. And you all know the stories of Joshua Cribbs and Julian Edelman going from quarterbacks at Kent State to wide receivers and return men in the NFL.
It's no surprise that players like Gates, Nix and Edelman made it the way they did. All three were players who overcame questions to become successful at Kent State. Gates made several college stops before finding his way to Kent State, and he was a matchup nightmare in his two seasons as a somewhat undersized power forward with guard skills. The Dallas Mavericks actually looked at Gates briefly as a possibility as a point guard. Then-coach Don Nelson liked those kind of projects and the potential for creating unusual matchups.
People wondered if Nix and Edelman were too small to play at the next level during their college games. People questioned if Edelman was big enough to play quarterback in college, so he decided to prove his value at the junior college level. Kent State believed in him.
Cribbs was a bit different in that he was big, strong and fast coming out of Washington DC area, and some big college recruiters liked him. They just wanted him to play defensive back instead of quarterback. Maryland wanted him as a safety. Pees was the only coach who was willing to commit to giving Cribbs a chance to play quarterback. Cribbs wanted that chance and instead of taking major conference offers, he went to the school that believed in him.
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