Chad Gardner

Wyoming

Sep 20 (Sat)

8:15 p.m.

Position:
Defensive End
Height:
6-2
Weight:
230
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Orangevale, Calif.
High School:
Granite Bay

AT COLORADO: 2003 (Sr.)?He saw action in 11 games (no starts; did not play in the opener), as he saw action mainly on special teams but on offense at spot times as well. He was moved from defensive end to fullback prior to spring drills, but didn’t practice at his new position until August as he missed the spring recovering from knee surgery.

2002 (Jr.)?He saw action in 11 games, all on special teams, and had one tackle on coverage duty; he was the Scout Team Defense Award winner for the San Diego State game. He injured his knee in Alamo Bowl practices and it required surgery, this he missed the bowl game. He missed spring practice (violated team rules), but was back in good standing by summer.

2001 (Soph.)?He saw action in the final eight games of the year, including the Fiesta Bowl, all on special teams. He had two assisted tackles on coverage unit duty, and was the Scout Team Defense Award winner for the Texas A&M game. He had 10 tackles, including a third down stop, in the four full spring scrimmages.

2000 (Fr.)?He was “activated” from a possible redshirt year in the fifth game of the season, and he wound up playing in six games, all on special teams.

HIGH SCHOOL?As a senior, he earned All-America honors from PrepStar, which ranked him as the No. 8 linebacker in the West region. He also earned first-team all-state honors (Cal-Hi Sports), all-Sacramento Metro (Sacramento Bee) and all-Sierra Foothill League honors. As a senior playing outside (rush) linebacker, he was in on 130 tackles (83 solo), with some monster garnish: he had a whopping 55 quarterback hurries, 29 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback sacks and three blocked kicks (two field goals, one punt). He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three passes broken up and an interception, and had 10 or more tackles in 10 games. As a junior, he made 85 tackles with 20 for losses and 10 sacks, with 42 hurries and three blocked kicks. He holds the school record for career quarterback sacks (24). He played both running back and inside linebacker on the junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore. Top games as a senior included a battle against the No. 1 team from Nevada, McQueen, when with 1:50 remaining, he chased down the quarterback, and in the process of sacking him forced a fumble that Granite Bay recovered to preserve a 29-28 win. He had 17 tackles and three sacks in that game, and in a 14-0 win over Placer, he had 20 tackles and two quarterback sacks. Granite Bay was 13-0 his senior year, claiming the CIF San Joaquin Section championship, and was 8-2 his junior season and 5-5 his sophomore year under coach Bob Sebring. He lettered four times in track, participating in the shot put (50-6 career best) and the discus (155-4).