Defensive Back / Returner | Lettered 1949-50
Oh for the wonders of Media Guides. If it wasn't for them I would never have figured out that Gene Gibson is the only person to have two returns for a touchdown in a game. One on a Punt Return and another off a lateral. That happened in the Glass Bowl against Toledo. But Gibson is more than that stat, pardon the cliche. He might just be the best return man in Bearcats history.
That might seem controversial but the case is straightforward, and based on the premise that returning Punts is more difficult than returning kickoffs and the following stats. Gibson has the highest punt return average (20.54), more Punt Returns for TDs (5). More to the point he is the only Bearcat with two seasons of averaging 20 yards per return and the only Bearcat ever to return multiple punts for scores in two different seasons*. Mardy Gilyard is more recent, but the numbers point to Gene Gibson who did all that wearing the number 53.
* two each in 1949 and 50
Follow Down The Drive on Facebook/Twitter and check out the DTD Store