Antonio Gandy-Golden (born April 11, 1998) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver. He played college football at

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and was drafted by the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Gandy-Golden retired from the NFL after two seasons in order to return to school.

Early years

Gandy-Golden attended Paulding County High School in

Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...

, where he played wide receiver on the football team. He was a 2-star recruit according to rivals.com. Following high school, Gandy-Golden committed to

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

over offers from Elon,

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

, Kennesaw State and Samford.

College career

As a freshman, he recorded 315 receiving yards and three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

receptions. In his sophomore season, he led the

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

in receptions and receiving yards, also becoming Liberty's seventh 1,000-yard receiver in program history. In his junior season, he recorded 245 receiving yards against

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, breaking the school's record. He was a part of Liberty's victory in the 2019 Cure Bowl, the school's first bowl game and his final college game. He finished his career at Liberty as the only player there to post three connective thousand yard receiving seasons. As a student, he pursued a major in graphic design.

Professional career

Gandy-Golden was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 142nd overall pick. He signed his four-year rookie contract on July 22, 2020. He recorded his first reception for three yards in a Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He was placed on injured reserve on October 24, 2020, due to a hamstring injury, and rejoined the active roster on December 26, 2020. Gandy-Golden was waived on August 31, 2021, but re-signed to the practice squad the following day. He was elevated to the active roster for the game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in Week 5. He was signed to the active roster on October 23. He was waived on January 1, 2022 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures contract after the 2021 regular season ended. Gandy-Golden announced his retirement in July 2022 with plans to return to school. He was working on switching from wide receiver to

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

that offseason and finished his NFL career recording only one reception for three yards.

Personal life

Gandy-Golden grew up performing

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

and

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...

, which he attributed to helping him later in football. He has also been noted for having several other talents, such as his ability to solve a Rubik's Cube in under a minute and achieving a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

. He also draws, paints, and plays guitar as a hobby. Gandy-Golden was diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in March 2020.

References

External links

*
Liberty Flames bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandy-Golden, Antonio 1998 births Living people People from Dallas, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Chicago American football wide receivers Liberty Flames football players Washington Football Team players