Four days, four verbals. So much for the quiet offseason.
After Brendon Bigelow, Matt Williams, and Todd Barr all announced they wanted to be Golden Bears, Cal bulked up their promising-looking defensive class with the announcement by Gibson. Ron Gould was his primary recruiter. Gibson received offers from all of the Pac-10 schools, as well as Florida and Miami (FL).
Jim McGill of Bear Insider with the story.
"Coach Gould and I built a relationship starting with the first of my four trips coming up to Cal," said Gibson. "We just grew more and more comfortable in our relationship and I grew close to all the Cal coaches. With four visits, I had a lot of chance to build those relationship up there."
Welcome to Cal, Jason. GO BEARS! (HT Redonkulous Bear for finding the story.)
At 6'3" 212 pounds, Gibson is rated as a four-star recruit and the 18th best player in the state by Rivals (as well as the 5th best weakside defensive end and the 150th best athlete overall), the tenth best outside linebacker in the nation and a four-star recruit by Scout, and a four-star recruit and 80 grade by ESPN.
Gibson could see time at either the defensive end or the outside linebacker position, and right now I'm guessing outside linebacker will be his home as the Bears look to shore up on the outside. It's uncertain whether the Cal defensive coaches want him to play linebacker or defensive end, although he'd probably be the type of player who we'd want to replace Mychal Kendricks when he leaves after next year--someone who can play as either a down lineman or at a more traditional linebacker spot. More importantly, he could be the pass rushing threat Cal has lacked over the past two years in the 3-4 since Zack Follett's departure.
Gibson is #19 in these highlights.
SERRA HIGHLIGHTS #19 JASON GIBSON (via gstephan956)
Serra Trio Cal Visit 003.MPG (via masskicksass)
Here's Gibson talking about his recruitment to Cal.
"I’m just looking at the surroundings, how comfortable I feel there. I really want to see if there was no football for me, could I still live there."