"UW freshman set for American gridiron duel"

WATERLOO (Christine Rivet, Waterloo Region Record) — As a converted hockey player, Jesse Gibbon brings all the athleticism and ferocity of a rampaging defenceman to the gridiron. 

The University of Waterloo's hulking offensive lineman dropped jaws and opposing running backs with equal aplomb in his freshman campaign for the Warriors. 

 

To go with his conference all-rookie selection this past season, Gibbon becomes the first Warrior chosen to play football in an international event since current Saskatchewan Roughrider Chris Best appeared at the East-West Shrine Game in 2007 in Houston. 

Gibbon is destined for Sunday's International Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., home of the Dallas Cowboys. 

He, along with 29 of Canada's top under-19 football players, will face the United States in the game with national pride on the line. 

"Jesse finishes. He plays to the whistle and sometimes beyond," said UW's head coach Chris Bertoia. "I think he developed that from his hockey days." 

The six-foot-five, 290-pound behemoth from Hamilton eventually abandoned his competitive hockey career in high school. 

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"Jesse's got a big ceiling. We think he's just scratching the surface. He's a guy with pro potential," said Bertoia.