The 2021 season started off strong for Towson defensive lineman Jesus Gibbs, who recorded 15 total tackles through the Tigers’ first four games.
Gibbs’ best performance came against San Diego State, arguably the best opponent on Towson’s schedule last year, in Week 4. He recorded five total tackles, including two for a combined loss of 11 yards.
Things were trending upward, but then during the bye week, Gibbs saw his season abruptly end when he tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg during practice.
Through surgery, rehab and recovery, Gibbs is back for the 2022 season. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive lineman is beyond eager to make a statement.
“It was tough,” Gibbs said. “When I first got injured, I was recovering and I couldn’t really move too much. I started getting in my head a lot and thinking, ‘Man, this injury really set me back. This could have been my breakout year.'”
Once November 2021 came, Gibbs started to lose motivation for football, knowing he couldn’t do much post-surgery as he continued to nurse his way back to full health.
The turning point for him came once the calendar turned to 2022. There wasn’t much for him to do other than watch TV, but in doing so, he tuned into the NFL playoffs.
Gibbs found his motivation in the form of Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers, who missed most of the 2021 regular season with a torn Achilles. Akers returned to the field in Week 18 and helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.
“Even though we play two different positions, the fact that he was able to still be as explosive as he was while being at a position that requires more stress on his tendon gave me all the motivation I needed,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs researched the injury during the initial months following surgery. He recalled the injury being described by some as a “kiss of death,” but once he saw Akers play, it became merely a setback, one he knew he could overcome to get back to full health and prepare for his redshirt junior year.
The 2022 season, which kicks off at Bucknell Sept. 3, comes with great promise but plenty of mystery as well. Gibbs not only missed the majority of the 2021 season, but all of the previous season, too. The Colonial Athletic Association postponed the 2020 season to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19, but Towson opted not to play.
“It’s a great unknown,” head coach Rob Ambrose said of Gibbs. “Most people have no idea who he is. They haven’t seen him in years. There will be plenty of coaches and teams early in the season saying, ‘Who the hell is that guy?'”
Gibbs has had quite the career thus far. A native of Dumfries, Va., and graduate of Potomac High School, he originally committed to the University of South Carolina as a consensus three-star lineman.
Gibbs redshirted as a freshman in 2018, transferred to Towson the following spring and has been with the Tigers since. His move to Towson came with the added benefit of being closer to home and his family.
To this point, he’s had just one “full” season of college football under his belt (2019), but all those setbacks have added fuel to the fire, something the coaching staff has recognized as well.
“He’s got a high ceiling and he’s only going to get better and better,” Towson defensive coordinator Eric Daniels said. “He’s continuing to try to grow and take his game to the next level as best as he can.”
Daniels said the Tigers’ coaching staff preaches getting mental reps, and that was particularly important for Gibbs, someone who hasn’t seen the field competitively in nearly a year. He was getting reps in the film room by studying game tape.
Though Gibbs’ game experience doesn’t necessarily rival those in a similar position as him, he’s gained a lot of leadership qualities being around this defensive line, one that is coming into the season with a number of veteran starters.
“The big thing is understanding the goals he has and the aspirations for himself and the team,” Daniels said. “He’s continued to work on growing those relationships with his teammates. To me, you’re only as good as the brothers next to you and through rehab, he’s continued to encourage those guys and help make them better.”
Towson’s defensive line has nine players on this year’s fall roster who are redshirt juniors, redshirt seniors or grad students. Nearly all of them transferred into the program at some point. While there will be new faces, many are returning.
There truly is a camaraderie among the defensive linemen, and they use each other’s successes as motivation to improve and succeed down the line.
“When we’re in the weight room lifting, when we’re on the field conditioning and when we’re getting in extra work individually, we always bounce off each other,” Gibbs said. “We always teach each other new moves. We always criticize each other constructively as well. It’s always been an iron sharpens iron kind of thing.”
That’s encouraging news for a program that is looking to rebound from a disappointing 4-7 season in 2021 with the help of Gibbs, who is seeking to make a statement this season that he hasn’t yet been able to make at Towson.
“I’m excited, but I’m also taking it day by day because at the end of the day, I’ve still got to get through camp and stack those days,” Gibbs said. “My coaches told me that discipline and consistency is what will make you the best you can be. It’s about you being able to do it every single day, every single practice, every single rep and giving it all that you’ve got.”
Photo Credit: ENP Photography
Issue 276: August/September 2022
Originally published Aug. 17, 2022