Following the announcement that he is a Hall of Fame semifinalist, Antonio Gates has made a bold statement about how he feels about the decision. "I feel like, mentally. I belong in there," Gates said. Furthermore, he also noted that fellow semifinalist Julius Peppers also deserved to join him in this year's class. Additionally, Gates named Dwight Freeney, Andre Johnson, and Devin Hester as players who should get in.
Gates and company are some of the 25 names recently announced as the semifinal longlist for the upcoming Hall of Fame class. That list is due to be reduced to 15 next month before being reduced to just five. Each of those five men must then receive 80% of the votes from the Hall of Fame committee before they can join the Hall.
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Who Are Antonio Gates & Julius Peppers?
Antonio Gates is one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the NFL. After playing at mid-major Kent State, Gates spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the Chargers. An eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time First-Team All-Pro, Gates racked up over 11,000 yards and over 100 touchdowns. What makes Gates even more impression is that he achieved all this without ever playing college football. While he did play at Kent State, he actually played basketball. He helped the Golden Flashes reach the Elite Eight in 2002 and was an All-American in 2003. His basketball jersey was retired in 2017, just the fourth jersey retirement in Kent State history.
Meanwhile, Julius Peppers was a defensive powerhouse. Drafted second overall in 2002 after a standout career at North Carolina. While, like Gates, he would never capture a Super Bowl ring, Peppers helped define the defensive end role in 2000s. A nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time First-Team All-Pro, and Defensive Rookie of the Year, few things were scarier to a quarterback than seeing Peppers on the edge. He spent time with the Panthers, Bears, and Packers. Since his retirement in 2018, he has been named to the Panthers Hall of Honor and as one of the "100 Greatest Bears of All Time".
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