What is this?

This little guy was discovered a few minutes ago by (ironically) our Pest Control Man.  He was here for his usual monthly spray and knocked on the front door to let us know he'd be going into the back yard.  As he rang the door bell, he found this sneaky little critter right by the door! 

Anyway, I think it's a baby.  But what kind of baby?  He's about a foot long and as big around as my pinky.

I'm totally phobic about crawly bugs but love reptiles.  When Michael was little, we had lizards and snakes as pets.  I think they're beautiful (as long as they aren't biting me).

Michael wants to keep it but I suggested that we might want to find out if our little visitor is poisonous before deciding to make him a pet.  I don't see diamonds on his back and his head shape doesn't make the hair on the back of my neck stand up but are there any snake experts who can tell us what specific type of snake this is? 

I think it's a Gopher Snake.  What do you think?

UPDATE:  We've pretty much confirmed that it's a Gopher Snake (thanks, Jeff!).  We carried him to a nice safe place and set him free.  I hope he'll reward us by eating lots of pesky gophers in his lifetime!