Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez explains his draft day suit and why he wants to ‘put on for South America’
New England's first-round pick wore a suit with the Colombian flag's colors.
Christian Gonzalez is a tall, lengthy cornerback who has a 41-inch vertical. One analyst remarked during ESPN’s TV broadcast of the NFL Draft that he can “jump out the of the gym.”
Gonzalez, whom the Patriots selected with the No. 17 overall pick Thursday night, has basketball in his blood.
“My dad was born in Colombia and he moved to America to play basketball when he was 18 …” Gonzalez told reporters via a Zoom call. “It means the world to me, to be able to put on for South America. They don’t really play football over there, so having little kids know they can do what they want if the set their mind to it, I just want them to know they have someone they can look up to.”
Gonzalez said his heritage was the inspiration behind the suit he wore on draft night. The suit was all-white on the outside, with red, yellow, and blue – the colors of the Colombian flag – on the inside. He also wore a white Patriots hat featuring the Flying Elvis logo and blue letters.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback said he’s watched former Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore a lot over the years, and is eager to learn from Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Some would consider Gonzalez being available to the Patriots at No. 17 as a surprise. He was the No. 9 ranked prospect on Mel Kiper’s final big board.
“Yeah, a little bit (surprised), but it all happens for a reason,” Gonzalez said. “God has a plan so I’m trusting in his plan and I’m very excited to play under him. You can’t really get a better coach than that. I’m just excited to learn, go in there, and compete.”
Gonzalez said he’s been to New England once, on a pre-draft visit. Having played at Oregon, he’s familiar with new Patriots offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, who coached there last season.
“Yeah, I definitely have a relationship with him,” Gonzalez said. “We would always talk at practice and mess around. I’m excited to meet back up with him.”
Gonzalez said he almost quit football during his sophomore year of high school when he was put on the junior varsity team. Now that he’s heading to New England as a first-round pick, he’s glad he stuck with the game.
” I was put on JV as a backup just because the coaches there thought I wasn’t strong enough in the weight room,” Gonzalez said. They didn’t think I lifted enough weights. I ended up transferring, pushed through, leaned on my family, and I’m very glad, very excited that I made that decision because I would not be in this position today.”
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