UTC tight end Jay Gibson's competitive fire fueled by nine siblings

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / UTC sophomore tight end Jay Gibson scored the team's first touchdown of the spring semester schedule last month against Wofford, and he also caught the 2-conversion pass as the Mocs won in overtime last Saturday at The Citadel.
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / UTC sophomore tight end Jay Gibson scored the team's first touchdown of the spring semester schedule last month against Wofford, and he also caught the 2-conversion pass as the Mocs won in overtime last Saturday at The Citadel.

As the ninth of 10 kids, the likelihood of Jay Gibson becoming the first in his family to do something was going to be pretty unlikely.

Yet he found a way, even in a competitive family full of athletes.

Going to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to battle for playing time on a deep, talented roster at a deep, talented position was not a new challenge for the 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end, a former McCallie football standout who initially signed with Western Kentucky, where he redshirted in 2018.

After catching five passes for 54 yards for the Mocs during the 2019 season, the sophomore is continuing to make plays despite being in the same position group as Juwan Tyus, who had a 76-yard touchdown against The Citadel last weekend, and preseason FCS All-American Chris James, who didn't play in either of the Mocs' first two games of their spring semester schedule.

It was Gibson who scored the Mocs' first touchdown of the spring, catching a 2-yard pass from Drayton Arnold in the 24-13 win over Wofford on Feb. 27 at Finley Stadium. His hands also hauled in the winning 2-point conversion pass in the Mocs' 25-24 overtime victory against the Bulldogs last Saturday.

"My family, we're competitive. In everything, not just sports," Gibson said after the win over Wofford. "It's in everything we do; everybody's trying to be the best. I think that's kind of why I am the way I am, having eight older siblings that picked on me when I was growing up.

"We're always trying to find ways to make competitions out of stuff. It's always competition in our family, and I think anybody that knows us knows that."

A look at the family DNA, where the kids currently range from 16 to 41 years old, shows a history of sports accomplishments. His father Jim, a pastor at First Baptist Church in nearby Cleveland, played tennis at Cleveland State. He has five older sisters and three older brothers, and they played sports at Chattanooga Christian School, Cleveland, GPS and Walker Valley.

There were certain things he wouldn't be able to accomplish first. His sister Jenny won three state championships at GPS, two in basketball and one in softball. He had four other siblings before him play tennis in high school, with his oldest brother Josh - who is 41 - a member of the CCS team that was the TSSAA Class A/AA state runner-up in 1998.

"Athletics has been a part of our family," Jim said. "When we go on family vacation, we'll have a tennis tournament or a shuffleboard tournament. Everybody participates and has a great time at it, and that's just something we like to do together, even the ones who were not extremely athletic, they get out there and play and participate."

Jay was the second of the siblings to play multiple years of football, with Jake having played at Cleveland. He's the first to play in college, though, and so trying to find enough tickets for the Mocs' game against Wofford - where only family members were allowed - became imperative. It's also what made scoring that first touchdown extra special.

"It was a lot of fun. It meant a lot to me," he said after that game. "My dad, I don't know the last time he's missed a football game of mine. My older brother John has been at every game but two since I've been in college, and they support me, and that means a lot to me because I'm closer with my family than anyone else."

The family played every sport together - well, almost every sport. Jay said his mom, Mary Beth, wouldn't let the boys play basketball, while Jim said they "just didn't encourage it."

So going against talented teammates such as James and Tyus for playing time is basically like being at a family gathering for Gibson. The competition is friendly, but everybody wants to be at their best.

"I think we've just got to keep doing what we're doing," Gibson said of the Mocs, who are 2-1 overall in 2020-21 and 2-0 in the Southern Conference. "We've got to keep getting better - develop people, and everybody has to work hard. We can't settle because of one good win against a good team. We know there's a lot more work to be done, and I think everybody in the locker room is excited because they know what we can do."

The 14th-ranked Mocs are off this week before returning to competition against No. 15 Furman (2-1, 2-1) at noon on March 20 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.

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