HOT GALLERY: Get to Know These NFL Power Players Before They Were Stars
The past 2012 NFL season got off to a shaky start when the replacement referees (brought in while the NFL negotiated with the usual starters) made some highly controversial (read: wrong) calls. And in 2013, two brothers go head to head, coaching the two playoff winners: The Ravens and 49ers. And both have their eyes on that coveted Superbowl title—what are the odds of that? Check out some of these NFL big shots—and a few future Hall of Famers—before they were stars... By Nina Hämmerling SmithA high school star in both football and basketball, he continued to excel at both sports at Cal (check him out at the 3:12 mark in a 1996 hoops game). After playing for the perennially underperforming Kansas City Chiefs for more than a decade, Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2009. He holds an impressive array of tight-end records, including most receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and consecutive starts. He’s also the all-time leader in both receptions and touchdowns at the Pro Bowl (which he has attended 12 times). Gonzalez’s heroics extend to off the field as well; in 2008, he administered the Heimlich maneuver to a man who was choking a few tables over at a restaurant where he was eating with his family, saving his life.