Gibson, a Class of 2022 wide receiver from West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Fla., picked up an offer from Tennessee on Wednesday night during a conversation with Heupel and Golesh, who’s expected to be part of the Vols’ new staff under Heupel. Gibson became the first Class of 2022 prospect to report a new offer from Heupel’s staff at Tennessee.
“I wasn’t really surprised because me and Coach Heupel and Coach Golesh have all — I’ve known Coach Golesh has been recruiting me since my (sophomore) year, really, at the end of it,” said Gibson, who now has received offers from more than 30 schools. “Me and him have a pretty good relationship, so I knew, wherever he went, he was going to recruit me and stuff.
“And then Coach Heupel, I had just met him a little bit ago, and now he went to Tennessee. He had told me he really liked me and stuff, so I wasn’t really surprised. And I’m glad they did, because those are two coaches that I really like.”
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound Gibson — whose father, Kelvin Gibson, and uncle both played at Florida — said he previously wasn’t all that familiar with Tennessee. But with Heupel and Golesh now recruiting him for the Vols, the younger Gibson said he plans to “definitely look into it.”
“We really just had a conversation. He told me he offered me, but then we were just talking. They’re two coaches that I really enjoy talking to, that I’ve been talking to, so we really just had a good conversation after that, just about Tennessee and what’s going on there.
“The last staff at Tennessee was not recruiting me, so I didn’t really know that much about them. … But now I’ll definitely look into it, just because of who’s there, until I learn more about it. Plus, it’s the SEC. An SEC offer, that’s a good offer to have. No matter what school it is, it’s in the SEC, so it’s something I’ll definitely, probably consider.”
“They told me that I was the first (2022) recruit they offered, the first one they talked to, because he had just got hired (before) they offered me. … He was waiting to get hired, and then he called me as soon as everything was OK. He said I was the first recruit he called. That does mean something to me, because it just shows how he feels about me as a player, as a person.
“Coach Golesh is probably one of the main reasons that I was thinking about going to UCF, or considering UCF — just because he was there, and that’s someone I’ve known for a while — so I’ve definitely got to take it serious now that he's up there at Tennessee. It would be a cool situation if it was a good situation as well as a good coaching staff and all that kind of stuff. Once I get to know more about it, I’ll be able to say.”
While Gibson admitted he “was a Florida fan growing up,” and he has attended games and football camps at Florida in the past, he insisted he’s keeping a “completely open mind” and not focusing on his family ties to the Gators.
He said he doesn’t “really” have any favorites at this point, and he’s currently in no hurry to decide on a college.
“Probably after my spring season, I’ll definitely chop it down a little bit,” Gibson said. “Hopefully by either before (my) senior season or in the beginning of my senior season, I’ll go ahead and commit because I’m trying to early enroll in January.”
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