Christian Gonzalez (born June 28, 2002) is an

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 with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He played college football at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. He also played for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

at the University of Colorado before playing one season with Oregon in 2022, where he received all-conference honors. He is the younger brother of Colombian-American

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

Melissa Gonzalez.

Early life

Gonzalez was born on June 28, 2002, in

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the 23rd-most populous city in Texas. History The area was first settled by Jared Ford i ...

, and grew up in

The Colony, Texas The Colony is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. The population was 44,534 at the 2020 census. History The Colony derives its name from the original Peters Colony. The Peters Colony headquarters was located wi ...

. He attended

The Colony High School The Colony High School (TCHS) is a public high school located in the city of The Colony, Texas, United States, USA and classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League, UIL. It is a part of the Lewisville Independent School Distr ...

, where he was rated a four-star prospect as a

and wide receiver. Gonzalez initially committed to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

before enrolling at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

College career

Gonzalez would become at fulltime

upon joining the Colorado Buffaloes football team in 2020 and started every game as a freshman, making 25 tackles with five

pass deflection In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

s. As a sophomore, he had 53 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and five passes broken up. Gonzalez transferred to the

in 2022 to play for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 after recording 45 tackles, 7 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions. After the season, Gonzalez decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

Personal life

Gonzalez was born to an athletic

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n family. His father, Hector, is 6-foot-9 and played college basketball at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

before playing

semiprofession A semiprofession is an occupation that requires advanced knowledge and skills but is not widely regarded as a true profession. Traditional examples of semiprofessions include social work, journalism, librarianship, teaching and nursing. Such fi ...

ally in Colombia. He has three sisters,

Melissa Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...

, Samantha, and Lily. Melissa (

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

) and Samantha (

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

) were two-time All-Americans in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

and represent Colombia in international events. Gonzalez is the

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred ...

of NFL quarterback

David Blough David Marshall Blough (born July 31, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was Purdue's backup quarterback in 2015 and led the Boilermakers to a win against Nebraska. As a r ...

through marriage to Melissa.

References

External links

*
Oregon Ducks bioColorado Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Christian 2002 births Living people Players of American football from Texas American football cornerbacks American sportspeople of Colombian descent Colorado Buffaloes football players Oregon Ducks football players People from Carrollton, Texas People from The Colony, Texas