When he is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates will officially become the first player ever to make the Hall of Fame without playing college football. He still can’t believe it himself.

“ It’s like I’m telling a fiction story ,” Gates told Chargers.com. “To tell somebody they can come to the NFL and not play college football but then make the team … and then start … and then make the Pro Bowl and be All-Pro your second year … and then be the all-time touchdown leader ...It’s not even a story you can make up. The chances? The odds? They’re crazy.”

Gates played basketball at Kent State and thought he was heading for the NBA, but after his college career ended he was surprised to find that NBA scouts didn’t think he had what it

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