Highlights
Career: He has started 22 of the 37 games he has played in his Eastern career, with his 22 starts the most among returning defensive players and overall. He has played in seven FCS Playoff games, with 25 tackles and a forced fumble. 2017: Listed as a backup at cornerback on the preseason depth chart.
2016: He played in 12 Eastern games in 2016, making one start and missing action because of a concussion. He had 46 tackles with two interceptions and three passes broken up. He had a season-high six tackles versus Richmond (12/10/16) in the FCS Playoffs, as well as earlier in the season versus Montana (10/29/16). Two of his pass breakups came versus UC Davis (10/1/16) when he was selected as the co-team defensive player of the week along with teammate Jay-Tee Tiuli. He had interceptions against Montana State (10/22/16) and Portland State (11/18/16) when EWU clinched the Big Sky title with a 35-28 victory. He also had five tackles versus PSU to earn his second team defensive player of the week honor of the season.
2015: Gamboa finished with 31 tackles in his sophomore season, starting Eastern’s last nine games and playing in all 11. He had a season-high seven tackles versus Montana State (10/22/15). He broke-up passes in three-straight games from Sept. 26 to Oct. 17.
2014: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors and was named Eastern’s Freshman of the Year. He finished fifth on the team with 57 tackles, three interceptions and six passes broken up. He made the first start of his Eastern career against Washington (9/6/14), and finished the season with 12-straight starts while playing all 14 games. He received honorable mention by College Performance Awards as defensive back performer of the week after finishing with two interceptions and seven total tackles versus Southern Utah (10/11/14). His third interception of the season came a game later versus Northern Colorado (10/18/14). He had a season-high eight tackles, a forced fumble and a pass broken up in Eastern’s 37-20 win over Montana (12/6/14) in the FCS Playoffs to earn team co-defensive player of the week honors. He had six tackles in the regular season versus Montana (11/8/14) and closed the year with six against Illinois State (12/13/14) in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
2013: Redshirted. Was the team’s scout team defensive player of the week once and earned the same award for special teams twice.
HS: Graduated from Washington HS in 2013. Gamboa helped lead the West to a 30-6 victory in the 2A/1A/2B/1B East-West All-State Game on June 22, 2013. He was chosen to the Associated Press 2A All-State first team as a defensive back and on the second team as a wide receiver. Named by the Seattle Timesas a “White Chip” selection as one of the top 100 prospects in the state of Washington. WashingtonPreps.com selected him as one of 193 players on its “Best of the Northwest” list of recruits. He was a member of the Tacoma News Tribune All-Area squad as a wide receiver, and was also selected to Ron Siegel’s pre-season All-State team (seniors only). Was named the MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Back of the Year in the 2A South Puget Sound League. He was a first team selection on the All-SPSL 2A squad as both a wide receiver and defensive back. A three-year starter, Gamboa had 53 receptions for 856 yards (16.2 average) and 10 touchdowns as a senior. He also rushed eight times for 106 yards (13.3 average) and one TD. Gamboa had a 14.4 yard average on seven punt returns and a 15.4 average on five kickoff returns. Defensively, he had 25 total tackles (16 solo) and two interceptions for the Patriots. He led his school to a 6-4 record overall and 5-2 league mark, losing to Kingston 40-37 in a playoff game. As a junior in 2011, Gamboa earned honorable mention honors as a wide receiver on the Associated Press 2A All-State team. He was the 2A South Puget Sound League Offensive MVP and was a first team All-SPSL 2A selection as a wide receiver. Gamboa racked up 1,098 receiving yards on 56 receptions (19.6 average) and had 12 touchdowns. He had a season-high 10 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns in a wild 49-46 loss to Sumner. Gamboa also added 113 yards rushing with a TD, averaged 11 yards on five punt returns and 18.4 yards on five kickoff returns. The Patriots finished 5-5 on the season and had a 3-4 league mark. As a sophomore in 2010, Gamboa was named to the All-SPSL 2A squad as a first team selection as a wide receiver and a second team pick as a defensive back. He had 28 receptions for 478 yards (17.1 average) with six touchdowns, and also had seven rushes for 89 yards and a TD. Defensively, Gamboa had 30 tackles (17 solo) and one interception. He also averaged 21.8 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown, and he returned a punt for a TD as well. Washington finished his sophomore season 4-6 overall and 4-3 in the league. As a track and field competitor, he finished fourth in the State 2A Championships in the 110-meter hurdles as a junior in 2012. He had a personal-record time of 14.68 in the 110-meter hurdles and 38.68 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles as a junior, and as a senior had bests of 11.11 in the 100 meters and 22.62 in the 200.
Personal: Finance major. Born 8/22/95 in Tacoma, Wash. His parents are Romeo Gamboa and Melanie Morgan.