Jerry Gibson, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior from Theodore (AL) High, recently became the tenth player to commit to Minnesota. He visited Minnesota for the Penn State game and committed three weeks later.
Gopher Hole caught up with Theodore head coach Eric Collier to learn the latest on his commitment.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as Jerry’s strengths as a player?
Eric Collier: He is a versatile kid. We played Jerry at three or four different spots. Jerry played tight end as a sophomore and halfway through his junior year and his freshman year. In his freshman year, he also played outside linebacker. Midway through his junior year, we started to play him at running back and the H (back) and did a great job there for us. His senior year, he played the H and the F for us. In other words, the running back and the flex for us. He is a great athlete who is a very intelligent young man who works his butt off. Comes from a great family. He has a big upside to him.
Gopher Hole: What about your dealings with him just as a kid?
Eric Collier: He is a great kid. He is best friends with (current Alabama player) C.J. Mosely’s baby brother (Jamey). I coached all three of them and they are all great kids. All three of them are Honor society-type kids. They have never been written up a day in their life. We are blessed program to have them go through it.
Gopher Hole: Were you surprised about him committing to Minnesota when he did?
Eric Collier: No. Minnesota is a great program. Those guys do a super job out there. They really do a good job out here recruiting and it is a great program. It is a big-time football. It helped Jerry going out there because Jerry hadn’t been away from Mobile, Alabama more than a few times in his whole life and just him getting out there and seeing things and realizing, it didn’t surprise me that he went out and committed.
Gopher Hole: What position do you think that he will end up playing? I know that he is a versatile enough of an athlete who could play several positions. Where do you think he is mostly likely to play in college?
Eric Collier: I think that he’ll play an “H” back for them.
Gopher Hole: Is he still hearing from other schools? I know that originally he was going to take another official visit, but it sounds like he is not going to do that now.
Eric Collier: He has tried to more or less leave it alone, but there are still guys coming every day on him. They show up at a basketball practice. I think that he is a solid as can be with them, but they are still coming in on him every day and that is a problem with Jerry. Jerry is a polite young man. Sometimes he has a problem with telling them no and I have told him that. I said “You tell me and I’ll do it.” He is just that type of man.
Gopher Hole: He plays basketball. Is he one of the better players on the team?
Eric Collier: He is. He is one of the better ones. We have a good basketball team. He is one of our top three. He starts for them. He is one of their top three or four players.
Gopher Hole: How do you do this year in football?
Eric Collier: We were 4-6. We came off a 1-9 and I took over in January. That is the thing about Jerry and Jamey Mosley. Both of those kids bought into the things that we are trying to do, making sure that our team was hard-nosed and they fell right into that. Worked their butts off and were really good leaders for us.
Gopher Hole: Has he talked to you much about what he wants to major in at college?
Eric Collier: Sports medicine. I’ll tell you Jay Sawvel and those guys do a great job in Mobile. We don’t see a bunch of schools from up that way come down every day. Like today, we have South Carolina was in here. Every day, you have SEC schools in our fieldhouse, but Jay and them do a great job coming down and they have done that for years and years. We have a great relationship with them and I like working with them. They do a really good job of coming in and working with our kids,
Gopher Hole: I know that Jay is recruiting a few other kids from Alabama. Did you know him from before this year?
Eric Collier: I have known Jay for three, four, or five years now or maybe six. He has always come in and recruited our kids. I was the head coach at Alma Bryant when he came in there sometimes and as an assistant here at Theodore and not just him, this summer, he and the defensive coordinator (Tracy Claeys) came in and then the linebacker coach (Bill Miller) came in this past week and we had a great visit.
Gopher Hole: Do you think that he is the type of playing who can get playing fairly quickly at Minnesota?
Eric Collier: Yes. Jerry will play ball pretty quick. He sure will. The thing that makes Jerry stand out is that he is highly intelligent, especially on the football field. He understands what you are trying to do. He is not just out there playing. He has been a blessing to work with. He is a really good athlete who is intelligent and he has a good work ethic. You don’t find that a lot of times and he has great parents. They are great people. His mom and dad are great people.