Laurence Gibson (born March 19, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He was drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the seventh round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

Early years

Gibson attended Buena High School, where he played two seasons as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He finished with over 100 tackles, 27 sacks, and 12 forced fumbles. He received 0 scholarship offers after graduating from Buena High School in 2009. Fall 2009, he attended

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

and moved to

. He became the number 1 offensive tackle and number 2 overall player in the United States (

rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

). He received over 30 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I and Division II schools during his time at

. On December 17, 2009, at

, he accepted an athletic scholarship to

and began his college career in January 2010. He initially started his college football career moving between

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and tackle. He settled at backup

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

as a sophomore and played mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, which he would continue to play for the remainder of his college career. Junior year, Gibson posted 6 starts at

. He became the regular starter at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

as a senior. Gibson earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

in 2013,

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in 2014, and graduated from the Virginia Tech Police Academy.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Gibson was drafted by the

in the seventh round (243rd overall) of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

, because of his measurables and his impressive

NFL scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

performance. He was a top performer in 4 out of 6 events at the combine. Posting a 5.04 second 40-yard dash, 33.5 inch vertical jump, 9 foot 5 inch broad jump, and a 4.56 second 20-yard shuttle. After suffering a broken finger during rookie mini-camp, the surgery and recovery caused him to miss the organized team activities and the team's mini-camp. He was waived on September 5. The Cowboys offered him a chance to join their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

, but he decided to sign with a different team.

Kansas City Chiefs

On September 6, 2015, Gibson was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

to their practice squad. He spent the entire season on the team's practice squad and was signed to a futures contract on January 16, 2016. On May 10, he was released after rookie minicamp to make room for tryout offensive lineman Zach Sterup.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 18, 2016, Gibson was signed by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Falcons due to final roster cuts.

Chicago Bears

On September 7, 2016, Gibson was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

' practice squad. He was cut on September 13.

New York Giants

On September 21, 2016, Gibson was signed to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

' practice squad, because the team was experiencing a shortage of offensive linemen. On December 13, he was released by the team to make room for offensive lineman

Adam Gettis Adam Gettis (born December 9, 1988) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Iowa. Early years From 2004 to 2006, ...

Houston Texans

On December 14, 2016, Gibson was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Texans on January 16, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Cleveland Browns

On December 13, 2017, Gibson was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

' practice squad.

New York Giants (second stint)

On January 9, 2018, Gibson signed a futures contract with the

. He chose not to join the team for any of the voluntary off-season programs and subsequently he was waived on May 11, 2018.

Tennessee Titans

On August 3, 2018, Gibson signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Personal life

In February 2017, Gibson along with former contractor for the U. S. Department of Defense at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

Joseph Bushrod, founded SolEnergy. SolEnergy is a residential and commercial

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

installation company where Gibson sits as the active

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

References

External links

Virginia Tech bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Laurence 1991 births Living people People from Sierra Vista, Arizona Players of American football from Arizona American football offensive tackles Virginia Tech Hokies football players Dallas Cowboys players Kansas City Chiefs players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players New York Giants players Houston Texans players Cleveland Browns players Tennessee Titans players