Christian Gonzalez Talks About Buying a House to His Parents

Christian Gonzalez was all smiles as he approached the microphones with a bag of Sour Patch candy that he planned to save for a post-workout snack.

The Patriots’ sophomore cornerback said he’s excited to be back on the field after a shoulder injury cut short his rookie season last year. His participation was somewhat limited in the spring, but he’s now ready to get going.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, being able to do what I love,” Gonzalez said. “It was tough to be stopped from doing it, but that’s in the past. I’m just so excited and blessed to be here and take it day by day.”

Gonzalez’s face lit up when asked if he was going to buy his parents a house this offseason.

“It was my lifelong dream. That’s why I started playing football: to be able to take care of my family. It was incredible.”

Gonzalez said the purchase wasn’t a complete surprise to his parents, who were partly involved in the process. He didn’t tell them exactly where it would be or what it would look like. But they were surprised by the finished product and shed a few tears of joy, Gonzalez said.

“It was kind of surreal,” Gonzalez said. “I’m still processing it, but it was such a crazy, amazing feeling. Being able to see the smiles on their faces, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Expectations are high for Gonzalez this season, as he has shown he can be a decisive cornerback. Teammate Jonathan Jones compared Gonzalez’s calm demeanor and playmaking ability to former Patriot and multiple Pro Bowler Stephon Gilmore.

Gonzalez said he had talked football with Gilmore before and appreciated the opportunity.

“One of the best players to ever do it,” Gonzalez said of Gilmore. “He plays with a lot of intelligence and he knows the game very well. I’ve talked to him a couple of times and when he tells me and he watches his video, you can see how he played like that, just trying to mimic certain things like that, but it’s really cool to be able to talk to someone like that whenever I need to or want to talk about the ball.”

Recovering from his injury and getting back on the field were important first steps. Gonzalez now hopes to show what he can do in his sophomore year.

“Every position is important to get reps, especially corner. It’s all about technique, it’s all about being on the court, so it’s huge to do that,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I’ve gotten better, but I feel like there’s still a lot of things I can grow my game in, so I’m looking forward to getting there.”