Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? a pretty good running back,'" Gatewood recalled. "But no one told me." In the era of freshman ineligibility, Gatewood was the 1968 scout team run- ning back who had to impersonate that year 's Heisman Trophy winner, O.J. Simpson of USC, or Heisman runner-up Leroy Keyes of Purdue while getting pummeled by a defense that would hold Simpson to a college-low 55 yards on 21 carries in a season-ending tie with No. 2 USC. While Gatewood appreciated the les- sons of understanding formations, iden- tifying holes and learning screen pat- terns (which would serve him well), he hated playing running back. "During the first whistle of each prac- tice, I was constantly in the receiver line during the drills," Gatewood said. "I was running with the wideouts, not with the running backs and running through tires. I was trying any way to get any- one's attention to see that I can catch the ball." With three-time All-American Jim Seymour 's graduation after the 1968 season, the timing was perfect for the sophomore Gatewood to be his heir at tight end in 1969, and head coach Ara Parseghian created what became known as "The Swinging Gate," where Gate- wood was positioned all over the field to create mismatches with his 6-2 frame. He credits Parseghian for being ahead of his time. "I was in the slot position before it was known as the slot," Gatewood said. "Sometimes I would be flexed wide as split end, then as a slot lined up in the backfield and then go into motion. That's how I got open, because I was put in good position to do things on any part of the field." With junior quarterback Joe The- ismann tossing the passes, Gatewood snared 47 receptions as a sophomore, not including six for 112 yards and a score in an 11th-hour 21-17 loss to No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl that moved the Irish up from No. 9 to No. 5 in the AP poll. The following season, Gatewood's 77 catches were second in the nation, and then he grabbed a 26-yard touchdown pass in the Cotton Bowl for the first Irish score in the stunning 24-11 upset of Texas that ended the Longhorns' 30-game win- ning streak. Although Gatewood's stats dipped dramatically as a 1971 senior — when he became the program's first African- American captain — because the Irish were replete with injuries and inexpe- rience at quarterback, his 165 career catches record (including bowls) would last 35 years. In a run-oriented era when 25 passes per game were considered an "air show," Gatewood's 14 career 100-yard receiving days are still the third most at Notre Dame, behind only Michael Floyd (17) and Golden Tate (15). BEYOND FOOTBALL Besieged by injuries and then a play- er 's strike in 1974, Gatewood never caught a pass in the NFL before leaving the game, with admittedly some initial remorse. "You hear it all the time: 'I lost my job, I got fired or I had to quit and don't have a clue of what I'm going to do,'" Gatewood said. "Fortunately, I had all the preparation for it, I found something