gattis was born in durham, north carolina. he played college football at wake forest as a safety. as a junior in 2005, he recorded five interceptions and 72 tackles, and was awarded second-team all-acc. his senior year in 2006 was one of wake's greatest seasons of all time, as the team won the acc for the second time in school history and played in the school's first orange bowl. he recorded five interceptions and 82 tackles on the year, and was named first-team all-acc.