What You Don't Know About Rob Gronkowski

While Gronk may be a famous footballer in his own right, he comes from a family so enmeshed in the sport it'd be easy believe it's simply in their DNA. Rob is one of five brothers, and four of them have played football for the NFL. Four! And the fifth? According to GronkNation.com, Gordie Gronkowski was a baseball player. Athleticism runs in this family as clearly as height and wide smiles. Rob was born on May 14, 1989 in the New York state town of Amherst, and he went on to play football on the high school and collegiate level. According to GronkNation.com, the future Super Bowl champ's high school football career included a number of accolades, such as being named SuperPrep All-American. 

After high school, Rob went on to play tight end for the University of Arizona. There, as the school's website noted, he wasted no time in breaking the school record for yards per reception, was declared the John Mackey National Tight End of the week, and had "three career 100-yard games." It's no surprise that The Patriots scooped him up when they had the chance. As GronkNation.com pointed out, in his first year, he became "the first rookie in Patriots history, and the youngest rookie in NFL history" to catch three touchdown passes in one game.