Aaron Gibson

Aaron Gibson (born September 27, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football for the University of Wisconsin, and was a consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears of the NFL, and the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League.

Early years

Gibson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis, and was a letterman in football and track and field. In football, as a senior, he was a first team all-state selection and was named as a Top 33 Pick by the Bloomington Herald-Times. He holds the record for heaviest NFL player ever, at 410 lbs, weighing over 440 lbs in high school.^[1]

==College careerand played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 1995 to 1998. As a senior right tackle in 1998, Gibson was recognized as a consensus first-team All-America, after having been named to the All-American first teams of the Football Writers Association, American Football Coaches Association, and the Football News and the Walter Camp Foundation. Gibson was also a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection.

Professional career

In the 1999 NFL Scouting Combine, Gibson ran the 40 yard dash in 5.35 seconds.^[2] Gibson was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 27th overall pick in the 1999 National Football League Draft. Because of an injury, Gibson did not appear in any games in the 1999 NFL season. Gibson played ten games for the Lions in 2000. In 2001, he played six games with the Lions before being cut.

In 2002, Gibson was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and had the distinction of becoming the NFL's first 400-pound player.

In 2003, Gibson had his most consistent professional season, playing in all sixteen games with the Chicago Bears. In 2004, Gibson played four games with the Bears, the last season in which he made an appearance in a regular season NFL game.^[3]

In 2006, Gibson signed with the Buffalo Bills. However, he was cut before the season began.

In 2007, Gibson played for the Austin Wranglers of the AFL indoor professional football league, his three tackles being his only statistic for the season.^[4] As of 28 August 2010, he was listed on the roster of the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings of the AFL, but as 'suspended by league'^[5]

References

External links

• NFL stats