Curtis Gatewood

James Curtis Gatewood (born May 18, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Vanderbilt.

Curtis Gatewood
No. 52
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1985-05-18) May 18, 1985
Memphis, Tennessee
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school:Memphis (TN) White Station
College:Vanderbilt
Undrafted:2008
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:2
Sacks:0.0
Forced fumbles:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Gatewood has also been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals.

Early years

Gatewood was born to Beverly Burnette and James Gatewood in Memphis, Tennessee.[1] Growing up, Gatewood played basketball and soccer before deciding to play football in the fourth grade.[2] As a sophomore at White Station High School in Memphis, he played both tight end and defensive end before sitting out his junior year in football to play basketball and to run track. However, Gatewood returned to playing football as a senior and recorded 45 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries while playing weakside linebacker. On offense, Gatewood caught nine passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. Following the season he was named First-team All-Region.[1]

On July 8, 2003, Gatewood officially committed to Vanderbilt University[3] becoming the first recruit from Memphis to sign with Vanderbilt since 1997.[1] Gatewood also received scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Tennessee Tech and Memphis.[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Curtis Gatewood
LB		 Memphis, Tennessee White Station High School (TN) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 4.6 Jul 8, 2003 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2003 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-01-01.

    College career

    As a true freshman in 2003, Gatewood was redshirted but was named the scout team Defensive Player of the Week three times. In 2004, he played in every game as a backup linebacker and on special teams. He recorded nine tackles including multi tackle games on two occasions. As a redshirt sophomore in 2005, Gatewood moved from linebacker to defensive end and recorded 22 tackles. Against Arkansas and Florida he recorded a season-high four tackles.[1]

    Gatewood started every game for Vanderbilt in 2006 and led the team in sacks with seven. He set his career high in tackles and sacks on September 30 against Tennessee State with nine and 1.5 respectively. He ended his junior season with 49 tackles, eight sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.[1]

    To start off his senior season in 2007, Gatewood sacked Ole Miss quarterback Brent Schaeffer on fourth down which gave the Commodores the ball. Vanderbilt scored on the following drive giving them a 31–17 lead.[4] On October 20, Gatewood teamed up with linebacker Marcus Buggs to sack South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell on consecutive downs to preserve a 17–6 lead for Vanderbilt.[5] He ended the season with seven sacks[6] after he predicted he'd record 15 sacks before the season.[2]

    Professional career

    First stint with Redskins

    Gatewood went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft and signed with the Washington Redskins on April 28 as an undrafted free agent.[7] He was waived as a final cut on August 30 after spending the entire offseason with the team.[8] He was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[9] However, Gatewood was released from the practice squad on September 24 in favor of linebacker Johnny Baldwin.[10] Gatewood was re-signed to the practice squad on October 10 after Baldwin suffered a knee injury.[11]

    Kansas City Chiefs

    Gatewood was signed off the Redskins practice squad by the Kansas City Chiefs on November 20, 2008.[12] He played in six games for the Chiefs recording his first career tackle on December 7 against the Denver Broncos and then another tackle on December 28 against Cincinnati.[13] He was waived by Kansas City on April 21, 2009, following the season.[6]

    Detroit Lions

    The Detroit Lions claimed Gatewood off waivers on April 23, 2009[6] before being waived/injured on August 9 with a hamstring injury.[14]

    Philadelphia Eagles

    Gatewood was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on August 25, 2009.[15] He was released as a final cut on September 5.[16]

    Pittsburgh Steelers

    After spending almost three months unemployed, Gatewood was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad on November 19, 2009 taking the spot of Donovan Woods.[17]

    Second stint with Redskins

    On December 15, 2009, Gatewood was signed off Pittsburgh's practice squad by the Washington Redskins.[18] He was cut from the roster on September 4, 2010.[19]

    Arizona Cardinals

    Gatewood was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad on September 7, 2010. He was released on September 21. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 6. He was waived on August 29, 2011.

    References
    1. "#48 Curtis Gatewood". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    2. "Curtis Gatewood sets the bar". Scout.com. July 22, 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    3. "Curtis Gatewood". Rivals.com. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    4. "Commodores run over Ole Miss, 31-17". Scout.com. September 15, 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    5. "Vandy ends 0-14 mark against Spurrier with 17-6 upset of No. 6 South Carolina". Associated Press. USA Today. October 20, 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    6. "Curtis Gatewood news". Rotoworld. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    7. "Vanderbilt's Gatewood, Buggs sign as free agents". Nashville City Paper. April 28, 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    8. Elfin, David (August 30, 2008). "Frost, Wade top cuts". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    9. Elfin, David (September 1, 2008). "Hang time lands Brooks job". Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    10. "Redskins' DE Taylor: Injury was career-threatening". Associated Press. ESPN.com. September 24, 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    11. "Skins' Taylor practices, hopes to play Sunday vs. Rams". The Washington Post. The Virginian-Pilot. October 10, 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    12. "Injury-riddled Chiefs sign three". The Associated Press. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    13. "Curtis Gatewood: Game Logs". NFL.com. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    14. "Lions add LB Spencer Smith, cut LB Curtis Gatewood". Associated Press. ESPN.com. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    15. "Eagles sign TE Tony Curtis". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. August 25, 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    16. Bowen, Les (September 5, 2009). "Cuts coming". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    17. Bouchette, Ed (November 19, 2009). "On the Steelers: Look for improved running game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    18. Boren, Cindy (December 15, 2009). "Redskins cut Batiste, sign Gatewood". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
    19. Redskins' Roster at 53 after Parker, 20 others released, Redskins.com, archived from the original on 2010-11-15
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