Ray Buckley knew the kid was different. Quite honestly, he’d never seen anything like it.  

A 5-year-old correctly faking a handoff and carrying an in-depth understanding of the spread offense? While his peers read comic books, Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez read defenses. 

Gonzalez drew coach Buckley’s attention at the Carrollton Youth Football League tryouts. Following the tryouts, Buckley made an adamant pitch to his assistant coaches that Gonzalez needed to be part of his team. When the draft came around, he swooped him up immediately.

It was at that point, Buckley said he noticed Gonzalez’ “God-given talent” on the football field. 

God-given talent, however, can only take someone so far. It’s certainly a foundational bedrock to build from as a kid. But to become the starting cornerback for the Oregon football team, to be able to shutdown one side of the field by himself as a true shadow-corner, it took Gonzalez dedicating endless hours in the film room and with Buckley. 

That work ethic transcends the sidelines as well. It seeps into his willingness to be there for other people, especially his family.   

He kept Buckley as his coach from the age of 5 through junior high school and the two maintain their relationship to this day. When he’s home in Texas, he spends hours in the film room exchanging knowledge with his high school coach Rudy Rangel.

At the collegiate level, he has played for one positional coach. A man Gonzalez refers to as his “uncle” — Oregon cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin — who Gonzalez rejoined when he transferred from Colorado to Oregon.

Gonzalez spends his free time locked in the film room, studying the game. He’s prioritized growing connections with his new teammates, mostly through the food that he cooks for them. He finds time to keep up with his older sisters Samantha and Melissa, following their professional track races.

He’s a young man of few words. He’s soft-spoken, low-key and reserved around people he hasn’t known for a long time.

That aspect of his personality is clear when he’s answering questions from the media about Oregon’s defensive schemes or his recent transition from Boulder, Colorado, to Eugene, Oregon.

He’s not one to provide a long-winded soliloquy. His brief responses, however, are not for lack of intelligence or awareness.

“[Gonzalez] is an incredible player, and he’s going to be really good at the outside corner for us this year,” Oregon safety Bennett Williams said. “He’s not going to be a ‘rah-rah’ guy. He’s not out there super talkative. He’s kind of like a silent assassin.”

At the Colony high school, he seamlessly shifted between outside cornerback, wildcat quarterback and, at times, punter.

He wasn’t shy of the end zone. Each time he reached paydirt, he acted as if he had been there before. Rather than performing a celebration like most players, Gonzalez handed the ball to the referee without hesitation.

That subtle demeanor is fitting for his position. At times, outside cornerback can be a thankless occupation. Pac-12 football is often publicized by its slew of offensive highlights. An outside cornerback’s job is to prevent those plays.

When Gonzalez sets foot on the field, however, he demands the attention of football fans.

When The Colony took on Lone Star high school in his senior season, all eyes were on Gonzalez’s matchup with receiver Marvin Mims.

Mims recorded 32 receptions for 705 yards and five touchdowns in his sophomore season at the University of Oklahoma. He was recently placed on the Hornung Award watchlist by Sports Illustrated in anticipation of a breakout junior campaign.

However, when he lined up opposite Gonzalez in high school, he was held to just two catches.

“It’s fun to watch teams completely cross off a side of the field because of one human being,” Rangel said. “You could put Christian Gonzalez on the very best receiver at the University of … and that’s what you’re going to watch.”

Gonzalez’s ability to take out the opposing team’s top pass catcher will be a luxury for this Ducks defense. It allows the other 10 guys on the field to hyperfocus on their individual tasks knowing a significant passing play will seldom go Gonzalez’s way.

In large part due to his 6-foot-2, 201-pound frame, Gonzalez has the versatility to stick with downfield routes but also break up plays before they even start. He led all true cornerbacks in the nation with 5.5 tackles for loss last season.

“[Gonzalez] has a knack for diagnosing plays that are happening behind the ball,” coach Martin said. “His tackles for losses weren’t always pressures… It was things where we were up defenders and he had the opportunity to pull the trigger and he did.”

Gonzalez’s teammates can consistently rely on his ‘God-given’ talent to help affect a football game in a number of ways. Off the field, though, they benefit from his kitchen savvy.

Oregon defensive back Trikweze Bridges raved about the “cajun shrimp pasta” Gonzalez cooked for him and a few other members of the secondary.

“He has that [pasta] in his bag,” Bridges said.

Gonzalez loves to experiment with cooking and add more recipes to that “bag.” He shares his favorite meals with his family through pictures. A few of his top meals include salmon, Asian-style lettuce wraps, pasta and brownies, according to his mom, Temple.

“The men in our family are masters in the kitchen,” Temple said.

Through just 14 practices, Gonzalez’s connections with his teammates have blossomed. Apart from his cooking, Gonzalez acts as a mentor on the field.

Unlike his positional cohorts, the coverage schemes are nothing new to Gonzalez. Neither is the positional coach — Demetrice Martin.

Before transferring to Oregon, Gonzalez chose to attend the University of Colorado for two reasons: It was one of the first schools that believed in him, and he would learn from Coach Martin.

Now, the two have joined forces in Eugene.

“[Christian’s] able to be a big brother to the guys in the squad,” Martin said. “It’s a good cop bad cop type of thing. He can be the good cop, and I can be the bad cop because he’s been with me for two years. He knows my moods; he knows how I teach, so he’s able to lead and incorporate that with the other guys.”

Gonzalez cherishes the relationships with his past coaches as well.
After impressing coach Ray Buckley at the youth football tryouts, Gonzalez trained under his watch for seven years. He became teammates with Buckley’s kids. When he returns to Texas, Gonzalez frequently hangs out at the Buckley household.

Buckley took a step back from being his coach once Gonzalez reached high school.

Gonzalez enrolled at The Colony in his junior year where coach Rudy Rangel placed him at the outside corner. Little did Rangel know, Gonzalez had the ability to play both sides of the ball at a high level.

That quickly became clear to the coach.

“The staff was calling [to put him at wildcat quarterback],” Rangel said. “I’m thinking, ‘Guys just hang tight; we’re moving the ball.’ He took his first snap on offense and scored. I’m sitting there going, ‘Is he running or not?’”

Gonzalez left opposing players in the dust. Still, Rangel often questioned his top speed. He has a silky running style that appears to onlookers as an effortless prance.

In the same game where Gonzalez contained Mims, he lined up behind the long-snapper as the punter and “averaged 40 yards a punt,” Rangel said. His capability in all aspects of football made it near impossible for Rangel to take him off the field. 

“When that alarm goes off at five in the morning, what sets Christian Gonzalez apart from others, is that Christian gets up and gets it done, and some of the others don’t,” Rangel said.

To many, Gonzalez’s command of all these activities may seem like a fluke.

It’s not.

Those traits run through the veins of the entire Gonzalez family.

His dad, Hector, stands at 6-foot-9 and played collegiate basketball at the University of Texas at El Paso before pursuing a semi-professional career in Colombia. His sister Melissa is an Olympic sprinter for the Colombian National Team, and she’s married to Detroit Lions quarterback David Blough.

His sister Samantha ran track for four seasons at the University of Miami and set a past-NCAA record in the 400-meter hurdles. His youngest sister Lily might be the fastest fourth-grader in the country, according to Rangel.

His mother, Temple, is the non-athlete of the group. However, she’s dedicated countless hours in the classroom as a teacher. She’s raised four successful children and juggled commuting each one to their respective practices and events.

Through all their individual achievements, the Gonzalez clan makes sure to stay in touch and celebrate as one.

“What sticks out is just the support that his family has for [Gonzalez] and his sisters,” Rangel said. “When he’s here in [Texas], he’s taking his little sister to track practice. They are just a really down-to-earth family.”

Temple recalled that her son’s first word was “ball.”

It was at that moment in Gonzalez’s development that Temple began to believe her son was blessed with a gift. She wasn’t surprised because she had seen similar characteristics in his two older sisters.

Gonzalez affirmed his mom’s notion throughout his young football career.

It was present when he impressed coach Buckley with his in-depth knowledge of the spread offense at the age of five. It was present in his effortless changeover between defense, offense and special teams at The Colony High School. And, it was present in the recognition he gained from shutting down Marvin Mims.
Beyond the white lines of the gridiron, Gonzalez’s affection remains everlasting.

In the food that he cooks for himself and his teammates and in the relationships, he’s built and maintained.

“He’s got God-given talent, but because of his hard work and work ethic, his God-given talent has been used to the absolute most,” Rangel said.

Christian Gonzalez, the human, has never wavered from the level-headed, gentle young man, who works his butt off for everything he’s ever earned and for the people he embraces the most.