Before Kansas football great Aqib Talib made the No. 3 jersey his own in Lawrence, wowing spectators in Memorial Stadium with his prowess in the secondary, Charles Gordon did the same.
Donning the very same No. 3 on his chest and back and drawing the adulation of the KU faithful as both a defensive back and receiver, Gordon was the Talib prototype for Mark Maningo’s teams in advance of people knowing about the future NFL Pro Bowler, Talib.
Gordon and Talib spent one season together at KU, on a 2005 team that went 7-5 and beat Houston in the Fort Worth Bowl. Now the two get a chance to team up under different circumstances in the NFL. The Denver Broncos have [hired Gordon as a defensive quality control assistant][1].
The move to the pro ranks for Gordon came after the former Jayhawks standout spent four seasons [on Northern Colorado’s staff][2] at the college level, coaching defensive backs on Earnest Collins’ staff. A former KU assistant from 2003-06, Collins coached Gordon on special teams and in the secondary for Mangino’s teams.
> “Anytime you run a program you want
> your coaches to excel and move on,”
> Collins said in a UNC release about
> Gordon’s new job with Denver. “When
> you had a player that played for you,
> like Chuck did for me, and then also
> worked for you moving on to bigger and
> better things – it’s like a family
> member moving on, or a son in a sense.
> I’m thankful for everything Coach
> Gordon did for me while he was here
> and I’m proud to see him moving into a
> new role with the Broncos.”
Gordon was a two-time First-Team All-Big 12 selection (2004 and 2005) at KU, and earned Third-Team All-American AP honors in 2004. He was also a First-Team Freshman All-American in 2003, after catching 57 passes for 769 yards and 5 touchdowns.
In his three seasons at Kansas, prior to turning pro, Gordon caught 106 passes for 1,232 yards and 9 touchdowns on offense, and made nine interceptions on defense, while averaging 10.4 yards on his 99 punt returns.
The 5-foot-11 corner spent three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before suffering a career-ending leg injury in 2008. Gordon started six games in the NFL, and made 2 interceptions and 64 tackles.
[1]: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/20/john-benton-49ers-offensive-line-coach-broncos/
[2]: http://uncbears.com/news/2017/2/20/football-gordo-leaves-uncbearsfb-for-denver-broncos.aspx
