Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY COREY BODDEN In 2008, Dillan Gibbons and his family made the trip to South Bend to watch Notre Dame host Syracuse. Gibbons knew then he wanted to play for the Fighting Irish one day. "He was totally mesmerized with it," his father, Shannon Gibbons, said. "We still have the jersey he wore to the game. He was very taken with the whole atmosphere. He was just a little kid, but was very taken by it. "At that point, he actually wrote down that he wanted to be a Notre Dame football player. That's where it started. It's pretty incredible how it worked out." The Gibbons family's love for the Irish did not start with that trip to northern Indiana in 2008. "We've been lifelong Notre Dame fans," Shannon Gibbons said. "I grew up watching Notre Dame games with my parents, and that was always the dream. My wife and kids as well." Fast forward almost seven years later to the spring of 2015 and Dil- lan's dream of playing for the Irish became a reality. During an unofficial visit in April, Gibbons was offered a scholarship by Brian Kelly and offen- sive line coach Harry Hiestand. "We had a pretty good idea they would love him," Shannon Gibbons said. "When we got there, we had no idea he would be offered. Immedi- ately we hit it off with Coach Hies- tand, and Dillan just loved him. "They really rolled out the red car- pet for us. That was almost two years ago. Dillan was still just a kid." Despite the family being lifelong Notre Dame fans, a decision on whether or not to accept the scholar- ship offer wasn't made immediately. But it seemed inevitable. "When he was offered, it was a life-alerting deal," Shannon Gibbons said. "We're a close family, so when one person is successful everyone is successful. He wanted to make sure everything was cool with his siblings. "He thought about it all the way home after that. My advice to him was to sleep on it. We wanted him to make a decision. "He woke up the next morning and we had coffee and said, 'Dad, I really want to commit.' We got a hold of Coach Kelly and that's how it started." Gibbons was the first commit for Notre Dame in the 2017 class and never wavered on his pledge to the program. This summer when he ar- rives in South Bend he will fulfill his dream as an 8-year-old to represent the Irish football program and don the blue and gold. ✦ DILLAN GIBBONS OFFENSIVE TACKLE 6-4 · 315 CENTRAL CATHOLIC H.S. CLEARWATER, FLA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 56 74 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 31 72 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 45 55 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 26 44 MEASURABLES • At Nike Football The Opening Regional Feb. 21, 2016, in Orlando, Fla., posted a 5.10 in the 20-yard shuttle and a vertical jump of 23.9 inches. STATISTICS • Helped pave the way for his team to accumu- late 311.7 yards of offense per contest as a senior. Also was credited with 11 tackles and three sacks on defense for a Central Catholic team that fin- ished 9-2 and advanced to the regional finals of the Class 3A playoffs. • As a junior at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Northside Christian was part of an offense that accumulated 341.6 yards per game. HONORS • Earned first-team MaxPreps Football All-Amer- ica Small Schools honors as a senior, and was a second-team pick as a junior. • Named to the Associated Press 2016 Florida Class 3A All-State first team. • Named to The Tampa Bay Times first-team All-Tampa Bay and All-Pinellas County squads as a junior and a senior. • One of six offensive tackles named to The Florida Times-Union Super 75, and one of three of- fensive linemen selected to The Tampa Bay Times HomeTeam 30 (ranked No. 4 overall). • Rated as the nation's No. 215 overall recruit and No. 37 offensive lineman by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the Rivals Camp Series at Or- lando, Fla., in March 2016. • Chosen to play on the U.S. Under-19 National Team against Canada at the North American Championship Jan. 28 in Orlando, Fla. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on April 4, 2015, making him the first member of the 2017 class. • Also held offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, Louisville and South Carolina, among others. • Visited campus unofficially for the Michigan State game (Sept. 17) and took his official visit over the weekend of Notre Dame's Echoes Awards banquet (Dec. 9-11). • Primarily recruited by offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. NOTABLE • Born Aug. 17, 1999. • Played for former NFL fullback Mike Alston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at Northside Christian School in St. Petersburg, Fla., before transferring to Central Catholic for his senior season. • His brother Reilly played for South Florida and was accepted to law school at Notre Dame. His sister Katie is a law student at Stetson. • He and his sister Delanie are twins. 2017 PROJECTION • Gibbons is likely to redshirt as a true freshman. THEY SAID IT Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand: "Coach- able and tremendous young man. He's very deter- mined to get it right, and he wants to do what the program tells you to do. He's very eager to find out how good he can be, and it is super important to him. He has a tremendous attitude about him." BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "Gibbons projects to the inside at Notre Dame, with a game that is more about power, toughness and excelling in the run game than it is about playing on the edge. He would struggle with speed on the out- side, and he's not overly comfortable in space. He has the talent to be a multi-year starter at guard." "On the inside, he should project quite well as a pass blocker, and his power will play well in the run game. He has the talent to be a multi-year starter at guard. He is able to dominate the position in high school thanks to his toughness and power, but he doesn't project outside at Notre Dame." Dillan Gibbons' Childhood Dream Came True After attending a Norte Dame game at the age of 8, Gibbons wrote down his goal of one day play- ing for the Irish. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM