First Round Pick Gibbon Happy to be Home

The Tiger-Cats used the second overall pick in Thursday night’s CFL Draft to select hometown offensive lineman Jesse Gibbon from the University of Waterloo.
Gibbon grew up in the Glanbrook area of Hamilton. He played his youth football with the Hamilton Ironmen and his high-school ball at Sherwood Secondary School.  Now, he gets to represent his hometown again, this time at the professional level.
“The city of Hamilton is an awesome football city and I’m a part of the fan base,” says Gibbon “To be a part of the actual team is a thrill for me. I’m almost lost for words.”
At 6’5″ 300 pounds, Gibbon brings impressive size to the Ticats offensive line. The 22 year old played left tackle at Waterloo but says he is open to playing anywhere along the offensive line.

Head Coach Orlondo Steinauer says time will tell where Gibbon factors in.
“I think he has the ability to play tackle,” says Steinauer  “We will see. It’s always different when you get into training camp and you’re competing against other professionals and you’re playing at a higher level, some people rise to the occasion so time will tell.”
Steinauer says the staff liked Gibbon’s aggressiveness and footwork leading up to the draft.
“It’s a decision that we made as a staff. Obviously we liked his aggressiveness, his tape, his footwork, his upside – obviously nobody can predict the future but we liked what we saw there. We liked when we interviewed him and those types of things. All you can get in this life and in football and in this life is opportunity so we’ll see what he does with it.”

Drawing influence from a former Ticat, Gibbon models his game after Peter Dyakowski, a fan-favourite staple on the offensive line from 2007-2016.
“Its more about what Peter did on and off the field. I see him as a strong leader, I feel like that’s something I can develop and become better at.” says Gibbon
He knows he’s got a journey ahead of him, but Gibbon said he’s happy and excited to represent his hometown team.