Defensive Line | Letters 1979-82
Another standout from the Bearcats dark ages, or at least the start of them. Gates played for Ralph Staub and for Mike Gotfried two of the more ignominious coaches in the programs history. Staub couldn't win enough to stick around beyond 1980 and Gotfried simply couldn't be bothered.
It didn't matter for Gates though. In between all the apathy he managed to put together one of the greatest single seasons a UC defensive linemen has ever had. In 1980 Gates racked up an ungodly 28 tackles for loss. And he did so against a schedule that included West Virginia and that seasons Heisman winner George Rodgers. In the 31 seasons since the record was set no one has come closer than 6 TFL's to that record.
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