Ohio State spotlight: Thaddeus Gibson
Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
PHOTO (top): Ohio State's Thaddeus Gibson earned Big Ten co-defensive player of the week honors after recording three sacks against Minnesota. (Neal C. Lauron, Dispatch)
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Thaddeus Gibson said he has no plans to don a disguise for Halloween tonight. It is the Ohio State defensive end's desire to be just as scary as he was during the Buckeyes' home game with New Mexico State this afternoon.
If he plays the way he did against Minnesota a week ago, he could be terrifying to the Aggies. Gibson had a career-high three sacks and provided a constant push into the backfield on the way to being named the Big Ten co-defensive player of the week. He also chalked up a fumble recovery.
It was the kind of overall game that fans had been expecting from the junior defensive end on a consistent basis this season. OSU coaches said Gibson had been playing well all along, but now he has some stats to back it up.
"Like all these other guys, I work hard every day at trying to get better," Gibson said.
Coach Jim Tressel vouched for that.
"Thaddeus is a guy who is constantly at that facility," Tressel said. "He is studying film. He's in that weight room. He's a committed young guy. He's a good leader."
Channeling all of that into getting after quarterbacks has been Gibson's focus for a while. Ironically, growing up in Euclid, near Cleveland, his dream was to play quarterback. But his freshman year in high school he couldn't beat out another player, so the coaches switched him to defense. The last two games of that year, he got a couple of sacks for the varsity and was hooked.
Now, Gibson tries to take out his aggression on the fellows living his previous dream.
In the pursuit, Gibson prefers not to enter through the back gate or sneak up out of nowhere. He likes to come "trick or treat" fashion through the front door.
"I want 'em to see me, definitely," Gibson said, "Whatever you want to do after that, whether it's run away or take it like a man, let's do it."