Ticats select OL Jesse Gibbon second overall

TORONTO — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have selected offensive lineman Jesse Gibbon second overall in the 2019 CFL Draft.

Gibbon participated in the CFL Combine presented by New Era in March and his performance helped improve his draft stock. The Hamilton, Ont. native was ranked No. 14 on the April edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings after being previously unranked.

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“The stadium is only 20 minutes from my house so I’m super excited,” Gibbon said on a conference call with the media after he was selected on Thursday. “It’s a privilege to be out there and play professional football.”

The six-foot-four, 295-pound offensive lineman put up 26 reps on the bench press and finished the 40-yard dash in 5.18 seconds. He also jumped 9’1.50” in the broad jump and posted a 7.85-second time in the 3-cone drill and a 4.75-second shuttle.

In 2018, Gibbon played for the West team in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl. He played in and started eight regular season games at left tackle and was named an OUA first-team all-star and a U SPORTS second-team all-Canada.

“It’s hard to answer that question, it’s up to the discretion of the coaches,” Gibbon said when asked if he was going to be a starter this season. “I’m going in with a positive mentality, trying to do as much as I can.”

“I’m just going to show up to camp in a positive mentality and make the most of being a second overall pick,” Gibbon continued. “I think there is some pressure. I feel like it’s all in the mentality and I feel like I have a pretty good mentality going into training camp with the Ticats.”