2008 Football Roster
Roster
Michael Gates
- Position:
- OL
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 310
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Fairburn, GA
- High School/Previous School:
- Sandy Creek HS
CAREER:
Was pressed into immediate service during his true freshman campaign along the offensive line ... Has seen action in 28 games during his still-young career, working as a reserve at offensive tackle during his first year on campus before settling in at offensive guard as a sophomore ... Earned his first start at right offensive guard to open his sophomore season ... Has started nine games on the offensive line ... Came to the Bulldog football program following one season of high school play at the tight end position and a standout prep basketball career.
2007:
Played in all 13 games during his junior season, he earned his first start of the year in the season-ending win over Ole Miss ... Also opened the post-season 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl game vs. Central Florida ... Hit the 80 percent blocking grade eight times during the season, including seven times in the last eight games ... Began his junior year as the top reserve at both offensive guard positions ... Played nearly half the game (29 of 59 offensive snaps) in State’s season opener with LSU ... Graded out at a solid 78 percent blocking mark against the Tigers ... Was on the field for 45 plays (out of a possible 85) in the team’s win over Tulane one week later ... Tallied a 75 percent blocking mark against the Green Wave ... Helped MSU rush for 266 yards on 54 carries, a 4.9-yard per carry average, against Tulane ... Played 21 of a possible 66 offensive snaps in Mississippi State’s Week 3 win at Auburn ... Scored a team-best 89 percent blocking grade against the Tigers ... Played 22 of a possible 59 offensive snaps in the team’s win over Gardner-Webb in Week 4 ... Graded out at a 75 percent clip against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, with five knockdown blocks ... Was on the field for nine plays at South Carolina in Week 5, turning in an 89 percent blocking mark ... Worked 12 offensive plays in the Bulldogs’ 30-13 win over UAB one week later, posting an impressive 90 percent blocking mark ... Played 32 of 73 snaps against Tennessee in Week 7 ... Tallied an 86 percent blocking grade against the Volunteers with four knockdown blocks ... Split time exactly in half at one offensive guard position at West Virginia in Week 8 ... In 37 snaps, he tied for the team lead with an 88 percent blocking average against the Mountaineers, registering a pair of knockdown blocks ... Was on the field for 26 offensive snaps at No. 14 Kentucky in Week 9 ... Tallied an 80 percent blocking grade with four knockdowns against the Wildcats ... Missed substantial playing time during the open week and in preparation for State’s Week 10 home game against Alabama ... Limited to 27 snaps in the Bulldogs’ Week 10 win over nationally ranked UA ... Made a 79 percent blocking grade against the Crimson Tide with a knockdown block ... Registered an 80 percent blocking ratio at Arkansas in Week 11 ... Was on the field for 25 snaps in a reserve role against the Razorbacks with a pair of knockdown blocks ... Went all 65 offensive plays at right guard and tallied an 86 percent blocking mark against Ole Miss in the season ender ... Had a pair of pancake blocks against the Rebels.
2006:
Moved inside from tackle to guard on the offensive line during preseason camp and won the first-unit job coming out of those drills on the right side ... Played in nine games during his second season on campus, earning seven starting calls at offensive guard ... Saw action in all but back-to-back games against Auburn and Tulane in Weeks 2-3, and in the season finale at Ole Miss ... Earned starts against South Carolina in the season opener and in six straight contests from Weeks 4-9 ... Was on the field for 26 offensive snaps in the club’s season opener against USC his first career start ... Returned to the playing field in Week 4 at UAB, earning the second start of his sophomore season ... Went all 67 plays against the Blazers, grading out at a respectable 78 percent ... Was second on the club with seven knockdown blocks vs. UAB ... Part of an offensive line that paved the way to 166 yards rushing and just one quarterback sack allowed in Birmingham ... Was on the field for 46 of 52 offensive plays in Week 5 at LSU ... Scored an 84 percent blocking grade against the Tigers ... Played in all but three snaps (75 of 78) against West Virginia in Week 6 ... Scored an 80 percent blocking grade against the Mountaineers with six knockdown blocks ... Was on the field for all but four snaps (58 of 62) during the Bulldogs’ Week 7 win over Jacksonville State ... Scored an 82 percent blocking mark against the Gamecocks ... Participated in all but seven snaps (57 of 64) in his personal homecoming game at Georgia in Week 8 ... Limited to 29 offensive snaps in Week 9 vs. Kentucky with an ankle injury ... Had three knockdown blocks in that reduced appearance ... That injury limited him to just a handful of snaps on special teams in Week 10 at Alabama ... Was involved in just one play a week later against Arkansas while recovering from the ankle injury ... Lost his chance to continue in the battle for the first-unit berth at right offensive tackle when he missed the final week of spring due to a non-injury related situation.
2005:
Played in six games during his true freshman season, seeing all of his work as a reserve at offensive tackle ... Despite limited experience on the offensive line, was thrust into action during his first year on campus due to youth and inexperience at offensive tackle ... Was on the field for 35 offensive snaps against Murray State in the season opener and recorded three knockdown blocks ... Saw action on eight snaps in the team’s SEC opener at Auburn one week later ... Returned to the playing field for 13 fourth-quarter snaps against LSU in Week 5 ... Again played in a limited role one week later at Florida, participating in eight late-game snaps ... Concluded his true freshman campaign seeing back-up work in the team’s season-ending 35-14 win over Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg.
HIGH SCHOOL:
Originally from Westchester and New Rochelle, New York, he moved to Georgia prior to his senior year ... Played tight end for head coach Rodney Walker Sr., at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Ga. . . . Helped lead his high school team to an 11-1 overall record, into the second round of the Georgia AAAA postseason playoffs and to a ninth-place finish in the Class 4A rankings, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution ... His team was Region 4-AAAA champions ... Had 10 catches for more than 200 yards receiving and three touchdown passes during his senior season ... Considered basketball his primary sport until moving south in November 2003 ... As a sophomore at Tuckahoe High School in Westchester, N.Y., he started all but one game and helped lead his team to a 20-5 record as the squad’s third-leading scorer ... Carried a 3.2 grade point average in the high school classroom ... Other top scholarship offers: Kentucky and Ole Miss ... Committed to MSU in January 2005.
PERSONAL:
Born Michael Jerrod Gates, 10-30-87, in Tyler, Texas ... Son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Gates ... Majoring in fitness management.
