He played college football at Nebraska and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Gates attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He committed to play football for Nebraska in January 2014 over offers from Alabama, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UCLA, and USC, among others.

[13][14] Gates had seven surgeries to repair both his broken tibia and fibula in his left leg.

[18] After struggling in the first seven games of the 2023 season, Gates was downgraded on the team's depth chart with Tyler Larsen taking over as the starting center in Week 8.