Antonio Gibson Key to Washington Football Team Playoff Hopes

The College Years

There’s a new position in college football and it’s called the all-purpose back, sometimes abbreviated as AP. This likely stemmed from the term “all-purpose yards” which refers to a player’s rushing, receiving and return yardage total. Antonio Gibson is a true all-purpose back and players like him might be the future of the position.

Antonio Gibson began his career at East Central Community College, a junior college in Decatur, Mississippi. While there he played wide receiver, returned kickoffs, and dabbled at running back. He transferred to Memphis and was mainly a wide receiver there, while taking some snaps at running back. 2019 was his breakout year for the Tigers, as Gibson accumulated 1,749 all purpose yards, averaging 19.3 yards per catch, 11.2 yards per rush, and 28 yards per kickoff return. All in all, he found the end zone 13 times in 14 games.

Coming out, Antonio Gibson was a tantalizing prospect, as he weighed in at 228 pounds but ran a sizzling 4.39 40-yard dash. His vertical was measured at 35 inches, and he bench-pressed 225 pounds 16 times. Add in the fact that Gibson had demonstrably shown that he could catch the ball while offering explosiveness in the running game, and it’s a wonder how he lasted until the second pick of the third round in the 2020 NFL Draft.