Rick Gamboa

2018 Media Guide Bio:

AT COLORADO: Career—Ranks 19th in school history with 292 career tackles … Posted 10 or more tackles in 11 games, including in the 2016 Alamo Bowl … Enters senior season having played in 39 games and made 37 consecutive starts.

This Season (Sr.)—He was presented with the Eddie Crowder Award for outstanding leadership, determined by the coaching staff following spring ball … Phil Steele College Football selected him to his preseason All-Pac-12 second-team … Athlon Sports named him to its All-Pac-12 third-team on its preseason list.

2017 (Jr.)—He played and started in all 12 games … Drew honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league coaches and was a third team selection by Phil Steele’s College Football … Presented with CU’s Dave Jones Award given to the team’s outstanding defensive player … Selected to the Colorado Chapter/NFF College Football Hall of Fame AllColorado Team … One of five team captains … Led the team in snaps played with 847 and was second in tackles with 117 … Posted four games with 10 or more tackles, the second most on the team … Added one tackle for a loss and a half sack on the year … Credited with five tackles for no gain, a team-high 10 third down stops, five quarterback pressures, two quarterback chase downs and he broke up seven passes … Opened the season with 11 tackles, a half sack, one third down stop, a tackle for zero, a quarterback hurry and one pass breakup in the win over Colorado State … Became the 72nd player in school history to surpass 200 career tackles, doing so in the week three game against Northern Colorado … Posted back-to-back double-digit tackle games against UCLA and Arizona, with his 14 stops against the Wildcats setting a new career-high … In the UCLA contest, he was credited with a career-high two pass breakups, and also had two third down stops … His 17 tackles at Arizona State were the most by a Buffalo on the season and topped his previous career-high he set four games earlier … After spring drills, he was one of two recipients of the Eddie Crowder Award for outstanding leadership as presented by the coaching staff … Phil Steele’s College Football ranked him as the No. 33 top inside linebacker in the country.

2016 (Soph.)—He started all 14 games including the Alamo Bowl at the “mike” inside linebacker position … Ranked third on the team with 79 tackles on the season (42 solo, three for losses), had eight third-down stops, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups … Played in 499 snaps on the season … He had a season-high 12 tackles in back-to-back games at No. 4 Michigan and at Oregon … Against Oregon State, he made the first interception of his career near the end of the first half and he returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, making him the 16th Buffalo since 1992 to return his first career pick for a score … His seven tackle performance in a win at Stanford helped limit the Cardinal to just 263 total yards in the game … He recovered a fumble at Arizona which extended CU’s streak of consecutive games forcing a turnover to 23 straight at the time … In the regular season finale against No. 21 Utah, he forced a fumble that fellow linebacker Kenneth Olugbode was able to recover and return 10 yards for a touchdown to seal CU’s victory and clinch the Pac-12 South Division title … Phil Steele’s College Football selected him as a preseason third-team All-Pac-12 performer.

2015 (Fr.-RS)—He played in all 13 games, starting 11 (the last 11 of the season after he replaced the injured Addison Gillam at the mike inside linebacker position) … He recorded a team-high 96 tackles (58 solo), and in the process earned the team’s Lee Willard Award as CU’s most outstanding freshman … The 96 tackles also set a school record for the most by a redshirt freshman, as he toppled the previous mark of 85 set by Matt Russell in 1993, and he also became just the second frosh to lead the Buffs in tackles (joining Gillam, who had 119 as a true freshman in 2013) … He had six tackles for zero gains, six third down stops, three quarterback hurries, three passes broken up, two touchdown saves, a tackle for loss, a quarterback sack and a caused interception as he did a little of everything … Had four games with double-digit tackle numbers, topped by a season-high of 12 at Washington State (10 of which were solo); he had 11 at Utah and against Colorado State and racked up 10 versus Arizona … He had 13 tackles (eight solo) and a third down stop in the four main spring scrimmages.

2014 (Fr.)—Redshirted; he did not see any action but practiced all fall at linebacker, participating in scout team duty as well … He dressed for one game (Washington). 

HIGH SCHOOL—As a senior, he earned first-team All-State (Division II) honors from MaxPreps (second-team by Cal-Hi Sports), in addition to garnering All-CIF Southern Section Western Division and Los Angeles Daily News All-Area team accolades … Rivals.com ranked him as one of the top 100 players in the state of California following being named the Daily News’ area and Mission League defensive player of the year as a junior … Was All-CIF, All-State and All-Area as a junior, and honorable mention All-CIF and All-State as a sophomore; he was a three-time, first-team All-Mission League performer (sophomore through senior years) … As a senior, he was in on 170 tackles (102 solo), with 12 for losses including five quarterback sacks; he had three games with 20 or more stops and had 10 or more on nine occasions … Forced three fumbles to go with two passes broken up and an interception … Played some fullback on offense, but it was primarily a blocking role as he did not have any carries … Junior year he had 159 tackles (95 solo), with 14 behind the line of scrimmage (seven sacks, and one TFL for a safety), with two pass deflections and an interception; he had two games with 20 or more tackles and seven with 10 or more … Posted 113 tackles his sophomore year (88 solo), with eight for losses including three sacks; he had three games with 10 or tackles … For his career, a three-year starter at inside linebacker, he had 442 tackles (285 solo, 34 for losses, 15 sacks), with 19 games when he had double figure tackle counts … In the CIF Southern Section title game, a 38-35 win over Serra, he had 13 tackles, two for losses, as one of his top efforts his senior year (he had 20 tackles against Serra in a 28-20 win as a junior) … As a junior, he had 22 tackles (11 solo, five for losses with two sacks) in a 49-39 win over Pelaski Academy from Arkansas, one of two five TFL games he had that season (the other came in an overall 18 tackle effort in a loss to Oaks Christian) … Under coach Ed Croson, Chaminade was 14-2 his senior year, claiming the CIF Division II state, Division II regional, Western Division and Mission League titles and finishing with a No. 2 ranking in the state; the team was 12-2 his junior season and 11-3 his sophomore year. 

ACADEMICS—He is majoring in Strategic Communications at Colorado while seeking a minor in Sociology … He maintained a 3.0 grade point average in high school.

PERSONAL—He was born in Sylmar, Calif. on March 31, 1996 … Hobbies include listening to music … During high school, he coached his little brother’s football team.