Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons has won the 2022 Jim Tatum Award, presented to the ACC’s top football senior scholar-athlete, it was announced Monday live on ACC Network.
“It means so much to me to be the recipient of the ACC’s Jim Tatum Award,” Gibbons said. “Through the years, I have faced many challenges and adversity in my academic career as well as on the gridiron. Fighting through this adversity has allowed me to transform into the man I have become and has set me up for success in life after football. I chose the more difficult path of obtaining a challenging bachelor’s degree and an MBA while also playing college football even as others doubted that I could do both at a high level. I’ve been motivated to showcase my abilities in the classroom and on the field as I have pursued my ultimate goals. This award is extremely meaningful to me, and I’m so thankful to the voters for recognizing my efforts.”
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Gibbons, who has started all 12 games at left guard this season and 23 over his two-year FSU career, boasts a 3.53 cumulative GPA while pursuing his MBA. He was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and the ACC Honor Roll last year. He earned his bachelor’s degree in management and consulting from the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame.
Gibbons has blocked for one of the most explosive and efficient offenses in the country this season as Florida State leads the nation with 88 plays of at least 20 yards and is second nationally with seven touchdown drives of at least 90 yards and with 15 touchdown drives of 80-plus yards. The Seminoles also lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally in third-down percentage, converting 51.9 percent of their opportunities, and have scored on 26 of 28 red zone possessions during their current five-game winning streak while ranking second in the conference with a 70.5 touchdown percentage this season in the red zone. FSU is one of three teams in the country, and the only team in the ACC, averaging at least 250 passing yards and at least 210 rushing yards per game.
The St. Petersburg native has helped pave the way for Florida State to rush for more than 200 yards in a school-record-tying seven consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation and FSU’s longest streak since 1987. The Seminoles lead the ACC in yards per rush and rushing yards per game, averaging 5.50 yards per rush to rank ninth in the country, and gaining 217.8 yards per game, the 12th-highest average nationally. Florida State’s offense also is 10th in the country with an average of 6.86 yards per play, 14th gaining an average of 475.7 yards of total offense per game and 18th with an average of 36.2 points per game.
“We are incredibly proud of Dillan for earning the Jim Tatum Award,” head coach Mike Norvell said. “Dillan is the epitome of what this award represents, as he is a tremendous football player who holds himself to the same high standard in everything he does. His drive to be successful on the field, in the classroom and in the community while making an impact for others was evident in my first recruiting conversation with him, and he has been a remarkable representative of our program and the culture we have here at Florida State. I’m happy that he joins this prestigious group of winners and am excited about what those qualities will lead to in Dillan’s future.”
Gibbons, who was named to the 2022 Allstate Good Works Team, is also a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year. The winner of the Wuerffel Trophy will be announced during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 8, and the Witten winner will be revealed February 23, 2023.
Gibbons is the fourth FSU student-athlete to win the Jim Tatum Award, joining Daryl Bush in 1996, David Castillo in 2005 and Christian Ponder in 2010. He will be recognized during the 2022 Football Honors Banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday.
Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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