LARAMIE – Deonte Gibson was heckled during his first trip to War Memorial Stadium. By a child. Wyoming’s new defensive tackles coach, who was the defensive ends coach at Air Force in 2024, was impressed with the atmosphere from pregame warm-ups through the Cowboys’ post-game celebration despite being on the wrong end of the scoreboard last September. UW […]
LARAMIE – Deonte Gibson was heckled during his first trip to War Memorial Stadium.
By a child.
Wyoming’s new defensive tackles coach, who was the defensive ends coach at Air Force in 2024, was impressed with the atmosphere from pregame warm-ups through the Cowboys’ post-game celebration despite being on the wrong end of the scoreboard last September.
UW head coach Jay Sawvel, who unsuccessfully tried to recruit Gibson out of high school in Cleveland, hired the former All-Big 10 standout last month away from the rival Falcons.
“Ohio people are very keen and heavy on football. Football is king. I know when the Cavs won in 2016 the city almost burned down, but I tell you if the Browns won, I mean, we might need a new city,” Gibson said. “I figured out when I came here during the season how serious people here are about football. When I walked off the bus it was kind of fine. I was on the field for maybe 10 seconds and I’m getting ripped by a little kid, a parent, a student, whoever.
“They just ripped me the whole warm up and I’m like, OK, these people are serious about some ball. I just loved it.”
Gibson, a team captain on St. Edward High School’s first state championship team, was an elite defensive lineman at Northwestern. Sawvel, the former Minnesota defensive coordinator, made a strong first impression on Gibson during the recruiting process, which carried over into this hiring cycle.
UW cornerbacks coach Benny Boyd, who was on the same staff as Gibson at Eastern Illinois, reached out to see if he would be interested in trading in the Academy Blue for the Brown & Gold.
“It was something, as I’ve now learned going into year five of marriage, that I need to call my wife (Dominique) if I’m interested in anything,” Gibson said. “I called her, and we talked about it and then I got back to Benny and said I think I’m interested in looking into it.”
Sawvel was looking for a defensive tackles coach with a history of recruiting and developing players. Gibson checked those boxes at his previous stops, which also included successful stints at Youngstown State and Akron.
After playing in the NFL in 2016 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions, Gibson returned to Northwestern, where he was a team captain and a three-time all-conference selection, as a graduate assistant in 2017-18 to begin his coaching career.
Gibson inherits a group that returns Ben Florentine, Dante Drake and Jayden Williams from last year’s rotation. Two other key players who missed the 2024 season with injuries, senior Caleb Robinson and sophomore Lucas Samsula, are also back.
“I told them I got to witness firsthand the level of talent and potential in this room. They got after us,” Gibson said of UW 31-19 win over Air Force. “I think just early on the ability to work hard and be dedicated to the craft; I can see it a little bit. We’re going to continue to gather a united focus within the room so that we’re not only working as individuals to be great but working as a unit.”
UW signed Aneesh Vyas, a graduate transfer from Bucknell, to add experience and depth to the competition. Nathan Murphy, a touted 2024 recruit, should also be in the mix after a redshirt year.
“We’re going to be the leaders in nastiness and violence,” Gibson said of the defensive tackles. “That’s where it’s going to start.”
The Pokes begin spring practice on March 25.
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