I quit on Nick Saban to play college basketball before making NFL history

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Only 15 undrafted players have entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nobody has ever made it to Canton without playing a snap of college football, but that is about to change.

Antonio Gates is one of the greatest tight ends ever to grace the field and will be enshrined Saturday alongside Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Eric Allen.

A dominant two-sport athlete at Central High School in Detroit, Michigan, he led the basketball team in scoring as a 6ft 3in freshman.

Gates was enrolled at Michigan State, where he would have played under legendary coach Nick Saban.

Unfortunately, the icon wanted him to give up basketball and play defense.

Hooping was Gates' true passion so he quit and went to Eastern Michigan University where he focused on the court.

"That was my love. That was the reality of it. I was in love with basketball," he told ESPN in 2010.

"Football was something I did so natural, I never really cared. I stepped foot on the football field, and it was like, 'That's the best player.'

"It was one of those things that was so natural that I didn't go to practice. I didn't do the offseason stuff, and I would walk out and catch the first two or three [passes] and take it to the house. And it was like, 'Wow, and he missed all those days -- just imagine if he applied himself.'

"And that's where the football thing started rolling. I was like, 'Whatever.' I was in the gym, shooting basketballs every day, working on my game."

Gates ended up at Kent State and received honorable mention All-American honors from the Associated Press after averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists as a senior.

At 6ft 4in, the power forward was told he was too much of a 'tweener' for the NBA and returned to the gridiron.

A workout in front of NFL scouts reportedly led to interest from 19 teams and the San Diego Chargers pounced with a two-year deal worth $537,000 and featuring only $7,000 in guarantees.

It was a small step in a career that would net Gates almost $71 million over 17 years.

The Chargers, who demolished the Detroit Lions in the Hall of Fame Game, went 4-12 in Gates' first season, but he quickly emerged as a force to be reckoned with.

He only played for San Diego throughout his pro career and retired in 2020 without ever having made the Super Bowl.

Gates holds the record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 116.

Of those, 89 were thrown by iconic quarterback Phillip Rivers -- at the time the most by a QB-TE duo until Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski hit 90.

The eight-time Pro Bowler is the Chargers' franchise leader in receptions (955) and receiving yards (11,841).

Gates' career began in San Diego and ended in Los Angeles, helping to usher in a new era for the franchise.

"He was a guy who just fit the city," said David Droegemeier-- co-host of the Locked on Chargers podcast. "A guy who feels like he's got to be from here even though he wasn't. He was ours."

It's a feeling that Gates shares.

"To the city of San Diego," Gates said after being inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

"You supported me. You embraced a 22-year-old kid from Detroit, and you will always be my second home."

Current head coach Jim Harbaugh says Gates changed the tight end position for good.

"First guy I can remember catching 10, 12, 13, 14 balls in a game ... greatest of all time," he said.

Thanks to his rise, other basketball players got a shot in the NFL, including Jimmy Graham.

"Without [Gates], I wouldn't have even been given this opportunity or been given the opportunity to play in college," said the five-time Pro Bowler in 2012. "He paved the way for me."

Gates started at the bottom and fought his way to the top. He walked so Travis Kelce and George Kittle could run.