Jack Gibbens, Minnesota Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/14/21 - ILB Jack Gibbens, rSr/2022, Minnesota

With a bachelor's degree in the double major of accounting and finance in hand, Jack Gibbens left Abilene Christian University last winter ready for a challenge. No, he wasn't off to start a career at a Big Four accounting firm. Instead, he still had some football business to finish. "Everybody on an FCS school wants to prove they can play at this level,'' Gibbens said. This level is Football Bowl Subdivision, and Gibbens, a three-year starter at linebacker for Abilene Christian, a Football Championship Subdivision program, joined the Gophers as a graduate transfer and wants to show he belongs. He had 258 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in four seasons with the Wildcats. Now, he's aiming to bolster a Gophers linebacker group that took its lumps in 2020.

"They were looking to add depth and experience in the linebacker room,'' Gibbens said of the Gophers coaching staff, led by defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. "There's a bunch of guys in there who are really talented but really young. We had a ton of guys who had great springs, and we're going to play a lot of guys at that spot." The Gophers' gain at linebacker was Abilene Christian's loss, and Gibbens' defensive coordinator with the Wildcats, Clint Brown, believes Minnesota is getting an outstanding player. "He was a guy who didn't ever want to come off the field,'' said Brown, formerly the defensive coordinator at South Dakota State. "He loved practice, and you never had to worry about him showing up and being down. He was a really good vocal leader, too, which comes pretty easy when you have the work ethic. When you put that work in, people are going to listen to you." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

rSr/2022