Enshrined: Gallup Excited About What Comes Next
Outlook turns to becoming a role model for his children
Mike Brohard
He knows he has the luxury of taking his team, figuring out the next step in life.
Michael Gallup’s NFL career is just a few clicks behind him in the rearview mirror, but even if his body isn’t antsy about the next step, his mind is already looking forward to what comes next. The here and now is fulfilling, but it’s also his driving factor.
Gallup, a consensus All-American wide receiver in 2017 when he was a Biletnikoff Award finalist, is one of five former Rams who will be inducted into Colorado State’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 2 during a ceremony at Canvas Stadium. Tickets are available for the banquet, which begins at 4 p.m.
Gallup spent six productive seasons with the Dallas Cowboys after being drafted 81st overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. What earned him that tenure and his stardom in college was a impeccable work ethic. It has given him the opportunity to ease through the rest of his life, but that’s not what he wants to show his three sons (Miles, Mav and Mace) he has with partner McKenna Root.
“It doesn't have to be a big profession or anything but just something I enjoy waking up and going and doing,” Gallup said. “Football obviously my whole life but now I want to find something that I enjoying doing. I want to show my sons that, have them see it. It doesn't have to be a full-time job or anything like that, just something I enjoy doing and then having folks see me doing that and it's a respectable thing to do.”
When Gallup received the call from CSU Director of Athletics John Weber, he was doing a dad thing – giving his three sons a bath. That’s a normal day for him, as if any day with three small sons could be considered normal.
He looks forward to getting up with them, having breakfast with them and getting them ready for their day. He’s coached the oldest a little bit and can envision that being part of his life moving forward. It’s all part of his plan to be a better father than the example he had.
Playing with them is a highlight, but the competitor in him still exists, so he’s not about to let them beat dad in anything.
“That’s mandatory,” he said with a laugh. “You’re not getting an easy win with me.”
His career at CSU spanned two seasons, catching 176 passes for 2,685 yards and 21 touchdowns. He remains the only Ram to have 100 receptions in a season. He came at a time when Alvis Whitted was coaching an extremely talented group, and the coach was convinced he was going to be just as productive as the guy before him, fellow Hall of Famer Rashard Higgins.
“I think a lot of people kind of slept on him and his abilities. The other thing I'd say is just not even as a player, he's just an unbelievable person,” said Whitted, now the receivers coach at Boise State. “He’s one of the guys I've just had a great joy of coaching just because of the type of person that he was, and obviously coming from where he came from, the upbringing he had, he was always a very selfless kid. He came to work. He was trying to find his way at CSU, but I knew he was special just because of just the way he treated people.
“I know he came in and it took him a little bit, but he adapted. He got to know everyone and kind of figured out how we did things there at the time. But just unbelievable talent. It's crazy how so many people gave up on him at that time.”
If I'm going to tell my little boys they need to go to college and do all that, I need to have that paper, too. So I definitely need to do that.Michael Gallup
He and Root, based in Plano, Texas, enjoy traveling and being active, including golf and tennis, a sport she excelled at in college at Alabama-Birmingham. But with an active house, they also enjoy what most couples do – down time.
When they get it. Which is rare.
“With three boys in the house, when we get some quiet time, it's quiet time,” he said. “We enjoy golfing together. We enjoy just going out, shopping. We like to travel. Her birthday is a day before mine; we’re both March babies, so we're both Pisces. We're pretty chill, pretty laid back. So when we have free time, I mean, honestly, we're chilling.”
Gallup is looking forward to returning to campus, as he’s always been fond of Fort Collins and how the community embraced him. It was the place where he was surrounded by coaches such as Whitted and Mike Bobo who believed in him.
He came back when Higgins was inducted, as the two hit it off through Whitted. It’s also a place where he says he left unfinished business. Again, he wants to set an example for his sons by finishing his degree. When he arrives in Fort Collins, he knows there’s a conversation likely to take place he is and is not looking forward to simultaneously.
“I still need to come get my degree from Colorado State, to be honest. I’ve still gotta talk to Ms. Blanche (Hughes, the vice president of student affairs) about that,” he said. “I know she will get on me. I know she will.
“I'm ready for it. I’ve got time. If I'm going to tell my little boys they need to go to college and do all that, I need to have that paper, too. So I definitely need to do that.”
That pull, to be a strong father figure for his sons, is something Whitted knew would be important to Gallup. He’s just as proud of him for wanting to set a positive example as any of the amazing things Gallup did on a football field.
Whitted saw it back then, when they were having deep discussions about life and when the coach was explaining to him one day the game would end, reminding his pupils a new life would then be set to begin.
The reality is, those conversations never stopped taking place. When Whitted recruits the Dallas area, he still finds time to have dinner with Gallup, Higgins or even both.
“That was the one thing in our conversations, you know, as he was getting ready for the draft and all those things was, this is a great opportunity and I can vouch for what you want to do and the opportunity that lies before you, but man, you got to finish what you started,” Whitted said. “You’ve got to finish what you started.
“And it's not just for you, it's for your kids. And now he sees that he has three, you’ve got to be the example.”
While Gallup may not know all of what comes next for him, he is sure on the one thing that matters most to him. Being the positive example he wants to be for his three sons. Having a stadium of fans being in awe of the player you are is one thing, but Gallup understands his greatest impact will be as a father.
Support Colorado State Athletics: Tickets | Ram Club | CSU NIL Marketplace