Rico Gathers
| No. 80 Dallas Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth: | January 7, 1994 | ||
| Place of birth: | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||
| Weight: | 281 lb (127 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Reserve (LA) Riverside | ||
| College: | Baylor | ||
| NFL Draft: | 2016 / Round: 6 / Pick: 217 | ||
| Career history | |||
| |||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||
| Roster status: | Active | ||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
| |||
| Player stats at PFR | |||
Ricardo Darnell "Rico" Gathers (born January 7, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college basketball at Baylor University and did not play college football. He was selected in the sixth round (217th overall) in the 2016 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
Early years
Gathers was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball while at Riverside Academy in Reserve. As a sophomore, he contributed to his team winning the state title, while averaging 19.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the state tournament.
As a junior, he averaged 20.7 points, 16.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game. As a senior, he helped his team reach the Class 2A state championship game, while averaging 22 points, 17 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
College career
Gathers accepted a scholarship from Baylor University. He became a starter at power forward as a junior, averaging 11.6 points (second on the team), 11.6 rebounds (led the team), 1.2 steals and one block and in 29.9 minutes per game. At the end of the season, he received All-Big 12, honorable-mention All-American and Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors.[1]
He also led the conference in double-doubles with 17. He recorded a school record 28 rebounds in a win over Huston-Tillotson. his final year he averaged 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Gathers is Baylor's All-Time Leading Rebounder. He also is the first player ever to Reach over 1,000+ points and 1,000+ rebounds in School History.
Professional career
Pre-draft
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
273 lb (124 kg) |
35 in (0.89 m) |
11.2 in (0.28 m) |
4.66 s | 1.71 s | 2.79 s | 4.56 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) |
9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) |
16 reps | ||
| All values from Baylor pro day.[2] | ||||||||||||
Although he had not played a down of football since middle school as a 13-year-old,[3] Gathers informed Baylor head coach Art Briles that he would be joining the Bears football team for the 2016 season.[4] However, he later decided to forgo playing for Baylor and entered the 2016 NFL draft after the Baylor men's basketball team lost in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament to Yale.[3]
Dallas Cowboys
Gathers was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (217th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, based on the potential he showed during his pre-draft workout.[5] In rookie minicamp the team considered playing him at defensive end, but decided to keep him at tight end instead. On September 3, he was released and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[6][7] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 17, 2017.[8]
Personal life
Gather's father is the cousin of the late Hank Gathers, an All-American and former Loyola Marymount star.[9] He is married and has a one-year-old son as of 2015.[10]
References
- ↑ "Sooners' Hield Leads All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Honors". Big 12 Conference. March 8, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Rico Gathers, DS #26 TE, Baylor". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- 1 2 Jossart, Trevor (April 23, 2016). "Former Baylor forward Rico Gathers to pursue NFL career". TheSportsBlaze.com. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ↑ Stack, Dan (February 29, 2016). "Baylor power forward Rico Gathers to play for football team next fall". TodaysU.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- ↑ Parr, Dan (April 30, 2016). "Cowboys draft former Baylor hoops star Rico Gathers". nfl.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ↑ Helman, David. "Three Former Draft Picks Among Cowboys' Cuts; McFadden Moved To NFI". DallasCowboys.com.
- ↑ Helman, David. "Cowboys Sign Sanchez, Release Showers; 7 Added To Practice Squad". DallasCowboys.com.
- ↑ Knox, Stephen (January 17, 2017). "Dallas Cowboys sign TE Rico Gathers, WR Andy Jones to futures contracts". All22.com.
- ↑ "Rico Gathers Bio". BaylorBears.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "Baylor basketball forward Gathers arrested on theft charge". Waco Tribune. June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.