Austin Price: Hello everybody. Welcome in for another episode of Vol Club Confidential. I'm your host, Austin Price, brought to you by the great folks at Knoxville Smiles, Dr. Malone, Dr. Costa, Dr. Walco. Go see them for all of your dental needs. But before we get to tonight's guest, which is Ricky Gibson, we bring in this great will Crockett of the volunteer club and will you rock the hat like nobody's business? You're also wearing one of these cool hoodies that have, it's lined with all kinds of different sporting stuff, the merch, this time of year obviously a big deal, especially as we head towards the SEC tournament. Will Crockett: Yeah, so we're always trying to bring out new items. This shirt that we have here in front of us, we just got on the website this week, but as you mentioned, we're going to be in Nashville for the SEC tournament, so we'll be there really starting Thursday. Hopefully we're there all weekend, but we're going to be at Barstool Nashville, so all of our members are welcome to come out there, visit with us. You'll have to show your mobile wallet pass, but we have a second floor area that's just for Ball Club members. We're going to have some food there for everybody, but should be a great time. Austin Price: Of course, Tennessee won't play until Friday. Barstool the exclusive home for the volunteer club. How unique are those events just from a standpoint of having a nice little community of ball fans that are frequently at the same spot? Will Crockett: Yes. I mean, what we've really found is as people are out traveling, they're going to different away games. They're at home games. A lot of our people are starting to realize I'm seeing the same faces at each of these events that they're doing. They're starting to get to know one another. They're planning away game trips with each other. We've had people talking about what they're going to do in Charlotte for the football season. It's really cool to see that kind of stuff just come together. Barstool has been awesome with us. I mean, the fact that we have a place on Second Avenue downtown Nashville that's willing to have our ball club on the second floor is really Austin Price: Cool. Now it's time to turn our attention to defensive back, Ricky Gibson. Before that, more from Knoxville Smiles. Knoxville Smiles whose mission is providing concierge style service, top-notch technology and relationship-based care. If you're scared of going to the dentist, the folks at Knoxville Smiles will make you feel at ease. They provide pain-free cleanings, and even the sedation dentistry. Ricky, what was that first year? Got to play a lot more at the end than you did at the beginning, but it seemed like you just kept getting better and better and getting more praise from the coaches. Rickey Gibson: That first year was definitely a learning experience for sure. Coming in from high school to college, it was definitely a big speed, different change that I had to get used to and basically I always just keep trying to work, put my head down and keep trying to impress the coaches and stuff like that, impress myself and press the teammates. Austin Price: How hard is that? Every one of the kids that ends up signing here was a stud in high school making all kinds of plays. Interceptions in your case, touchdowns on the offensive side and then you get here and not everybody plays right away. Very few and it plays a lot. How hard is that to go from being top dog to all of a sudden you got to kind reset and go back to kind of the back of the line, so to speak? Rickey Gibson: Oh, it was very hard because I come in there, I remember first time I wasn't in front of the line for real, but everybody was looking at me like, oh, what is he doing? So I just got in the back and stuff like that and after that because in high school I was kind in front of the line kind of showing everybody what to do and they just learned off of me, so I just had to learn off of them. That was kind of hard too. Austin Price: Was there a point in time when the game started to slow down? You got more and more playing time as the year went along, especially there at the end, but was there a time where you're like, okay, that same thing happened in Fall camp and it was a lot faster then? Rickey Gibson: It might sound crazy. It was after that Kentucky game when I got that concussion, it kind of changed. I was like, yeah, it hurt, but I could do this. Yeah, yeah. I kind of got a concussion and everything really. One concussion I kind of played next week, but I got banged up, kind got stumbled, so after Kentucky that really kind of changed my mind. I can really do this. Austin Price: How much confidence you carry into spring ball. Rickey Gibson: I got a lot of confidence. Crazy, crazy confidence. It's going to be fun. Austin Price: Is that something it starts next week, is that something where you're kind of been chomping at the bit? Because I mean winter workouts are fine, you're putting in the grind, but it's like man, I want to get out there and put some pads on again. Yeah, Rickey Gibson: Man, I just want to get up there and start touching 'em, man, I like depress and stuff and see what they got for real. See if they can run Austin Price: Some new wide receivers on this team. Some nice athletic wide receivers coming in, whether it's Brazel or Mike or Braylon Staley. You like that extra challenge? I ain't Rickey Gibson: Going to lie. Yeah, they make it fun. They kind of talk and I like that. Austin Price: Are you a talker? Rickey Gibson: Not for real. I keep it quiet, but if they push me enough I might start talking. Austin Price: Now you wore 18 this past year, one of Tennessee's best DBS of all time, Dale Carter were 18. Is that something you're trying to keep or are you like every other kid that wants to get to the single digits? Eventually Rickey Gibson: I only get to the single digits. I had it since high school. I don't know, it might be a thought now that you said that. I really didn't know that. I might do some research on that now, but right now it's a single digits. Austin Price: What number were you in high school? Rickey Gibson: I was six. Six. Austin Price: So trying to get back there, that's available now that Beasley's gone? Rickey Gibson: Gone. Yep. Hope so. Hope so. Keep working. Austin Price: Six and one that not a lot of people go for though, you know what I mean? Everybody goes for one three. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, but you just never know because there's a lot of older guys and the coach is basically off competition. How you do so you just never know. Austin Price: What have you learned most from Willie Martinez? Rickey Gibson: Just how he coach. He has different coaching style than my high school coach, so just trying to learn how he coach and how I can receive information better from him and so more so he not talking at me. We are kind of conversating like oh, he might tell me, but in my head I might be like, oh, oh, extend the conversation more further. So that's the biggest thing for real. Austin Price: Every time I see you you're always with John Slaughter and Christian Ka and you all have the similar haircuts. It's like y'all are triplets walking around. How much has that relationship with those guys and you knew each other from the recruiting process, how much has that helped the transition to college? Because you walk in the door with buddies, right? You know what I mean? It is a different feeling. Rickey Gibson: Yeah. Nah, them my guys for sure, man, ride or die for real, but how that really transitioned, I really didn't talk don't for real at all and so they would kind of picking at me for real and stuff like that, just saying stuff and I eventually came out of my shell and then we started becoming friends and how that transition on the field just kind of know what we're thinking at the same time like oh, we watch film together and stuff like that. So if we see that formation, he already know what I see and so it just makes everything more smoother. We can play more freely. Austin Price: Your uncle Carlos Dansby played at Auburn and obviously played quite a few years in the NFL. How much did you look up to him growing up from a standpoint of just like he kind of is living the dream you're trying to get to? Rickey Gibson: Just sending an example for real. I remember me going to the NFL games, he used to have limos coming out, the hotel taking us to the games. It would be in this press box, so I was just like, man, I just want to do that one day and so forth. He kept telling me to come, telling me to come and eventually I started picking up on the game and I remember I was a little kid just asking why is there a flag? They threw a flag. I was telling my mom why he threw the flag so she was like, I was just basically learning the game at the same time. Austin Price: What DBS do you try to pattern your game after? Rickey Gibson: This is a hard one. This is a hard one. I really like Denzel Ward because he a dog. Even though he kind of small people like to say I'm kind of small, he go hard no matter what he push. I like him really like him a lot. Austin Price: You might be like weight wise, I guess you could maybe say small but height. I mean you're tall for a corner. No, Rickey Gibson: Yeah, I'm pretty long. Everybody keeps saying weight so I'm just trying to prove that theory like hey, I'm a dog. Austin Price: How much weight have you put on this off season? Rickey Gibson: Right now I'm 180. Austin Price: What were you when you got Aaron? Rickey Gibson: When I got here Austin Price: For high school Rickey Gibson: I was like 1 63. Austin Price: It's not that bad. Rickey Gibson: 64 Austin Price: Emmanuel Mosley showed up here and he's in the NFL now and he showed up at one 30. He was tiny man and then he put on 40 or 50 pounds and he's 1 60, 1 70 when he left. I mean he put on a substantial amount of weight, but I mean he was tiny when he got here. So I mean GaN it's all about putting the work in. Yeah. What's your favorite part of the weight room and what's the part where you're like, when you see kind of the outline of the day of what you're working on, what's the one thing you go Rickey Gibson: Front? Squat front score is that up moment. I got to hold it in the front rack. I'm already kind of low, my leg, I'm really all legs for real. So I got adult man, it is tough and then it is hard too because we got the with it, so we can't just go out just in one motion. We got a 1, 2, 3 and then we go up and so that's the toughest workout for real is that front squad. I hate Austin Price: That one. What do you like the most? Rickey Gibson: What do I like the most in there? I like Hank Clean. Austin Price: When you look at the secondary that you guys are going to be walking into that room on the 18th, it's different. A lot of those veteran guys are gone. Guys either graduated like Jaylen McCullough at the safety spot or transferred out. Do you feel like it's a different look room in there? Do you ever look around and go, man, it's different from two and a half months ago? Rickey Gibson: Man, I mean it is different because I've seeing a lot of older faces and stuff, man, they kind old now. They're the same age as me. It's like man, it's kind of cool now we all Finn to compete. We all Finn better each other now. We often Finn try to stick with each other, hang out with each other because they were older so they were, we were kind of steer off and it went bad, but you know what I mean? They still had their group, they were older and stuff like that, but it is different. But I like the feeling Austin Price: When you got out there for bowl practice and you want boot hard to run around. Boot carries themselves a certain way and as a certain swag that a lot of kids don't have. What impresses you about him? Rickey Gibson: He going to be really talented I think. I'm not going to lie. He going to be really talented. It is just natural ability. He's just natural at it. You can sub him anywhere for real. We've been putting him different, just natural for real. He going to be really talented Austin Price: And he's a talker. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, he is. That's what I like about him too. He going to let you know Austin Price: So you're quiet and he's a talker. Does he talk for you when you make a play? Rickey Gibson: Oh yeah. He going to be hype for sure. He going to be hype for sure. Austin Price: Oh, that's fantastic. He's another guy that may want that number six. Rickey Gibson: Oh yeah. See what I'm saying? You just Austin Price: Never know. You never know. When you look at this team, it's got a lot of KG veterans at different spots as we discussed. Not necessarily in the secondary, but you did bring in Jerod McCoy from Oregon State. You brought in the kid from MTSU, Jacob Thomas. What have you liked about the additions in the defensive backfield? Rickey Gibson: Also my boy, Jalen Austin Price: Jalen. Rickey Gibson: That's right. Yeah. Jalen Mc Mary. They're really smart. They came in, they're picking up on the playbook. Just like that. Just like that. Now we can talk about more stuff than just like the plagues. Now we can talk about formations and stuff with them and they're really picking up fast and they got some good foot work as well. How Austin Price: Hard is that though from a standpoint of those guys are coming here to play and all of a sudden you're like, okay, it's my time and then all of a sudden you look up and here comes these transfers in it's modern day college football because moving around, but how hard is that part of Rickey Gibson: It? I mean, it is not that hard because yeah, they trying to play just like everybody else is trying to play, trying to feed their family as well. But like I said, I just feel like we're going to better each other and the next level, which is going to be the NFL for us. This is where we wanted to Austin Price: Go. Not only just those guys, but I mean you've got competitions with Kanye who's your buddy and Jordan Matthews and I mean I always felt like that competition is always healthy competition. And how much does that kind of linger back to the dorm room? If you make us a play or you make a play or whatever, linger back in the competitiveness living together. Rickey Gibson: Well, the competitive living together. Say if I get messed up on one rep, we'll all be in the Stokely. We'll have just living room and we had this 75 inch TV in there and we airplay our film to the Thundercloud, to the tv and so we would just watch film and say if I made a play, they'd be like, oh, what you did? What did you see? And I'll tell him what did I did? What did I see? And stuff like that. Say if John got messed up, I'd be like, oh, this is why you got messed up. You see two with a messed up. So we all just pointed to each other, Austin Price: We're brought to you by Knoxville Smiles. What makes you smile? What puts that on your face? Rickey Gibson: Everything. For real. That's how I was just raised. Just a smile. Austin Price: You do. You smile a lot. You see me and they always walk in and I call 'em the triplets and you always just got this big grin on your face. I don't think you have bad days, Rickey Gibson: Man. I try not to show for real. Austin Price: Well, Knoxville smiles, we appreciate the great people, Dr. Malone, Dr. Costa, Dr. Wilco, here's more on them. Dr. Michael Costa: Hi, I'm Dr. Michael Costa. Dr. Malone and I here at Knoxville Smiles are here to help you with any of your dental needs, whether it's a routine cleaning, a root canal, or if you just want some advice. Did you know that you don't have to settle for a denture anymore? My team and Dr. Malone are here to help you no matter where you're at and to help you figure out the truth for your dental health. So give us a call or visit our website@knoxvillesmiles.com. Austin Price: So what are the goals? Not only this spring, but this fall. I mean, have you started, are you one of those guys that kind of puts it down on paper and all right, I'm going to try to accomplish, this'll try to accomplish this. Do you think about those type of things? Rickey Gibson: Nah, I, I'm really a team, team oriented player for real. So I'll say the SC championship is a big one for us. So that's really our main goal and I'm just really here to help us get to that goal. Austin Price: First year of the playoff. That's got to be another one of the goals just to be one of those teams that gets in the tournament, Rickey Gibson: Right? Yeah, yeah. The tournament too as well. Because we get to the championship, we're going to be in a tournament. Austin Price: Have you thought about that? How cool that's going to be if you can get to that point. I mean the first year, Rickey Gibson: Think about it. First year ain't 12 teams. It's going to be crazy. It's going to be long, too Austin Price: Long. I'm going to assume you opted in on an NCAA football. Rickey Gibson: I did. I did. Austin Price: I mean why would you not? I mean I saw where Arch Manning did whatever, I mean to each his own, but I mean growing up as a kid, why would you not want to be in a video game? Right Rickey Gibson: Man, I was playing road with the glory. I couldn't even play on weekdays. I'm sorry man, I couldn't even play on weekdays, but I sometimes lock my door and just sneak on bank roll with the glory. NCAA 14. I was just chilling. I love playing ncaa. I don't see how you don't want to be in there for real. Austin Price: The question is, will he be number 18 or will he be number six? Rickey Gibson: The question is Austin Price: Get the black jerseys, the gray jerseys, man, you go play in Black Jerseys every time. Rickey Gibson: I just hope they give me a good overall. I hope they mess up with the overall. That's it. That's all I want is a good overall Austin Price: Good overall grade, what do you think your grade's going to be? What's it need to be? What will you be happy with? Rickey Gibson: 85, 84. Austin Price: So realistic. Rickey Gibson: Realistic. Yeah. I know. I ain't do too crazy. That's really generous for real. 84. Austin Price: Where do you feel like you are in the packing order on this team from a leadership standpoint? Do you kind of still see yourself as not one of the leaders or do you feel like you've got to start to, because let's face it, most people are expecting you to play a lot more this fall. Do you feel like you have to kind morph a little bit? Rickey Gibson: I feel like I still have to morph a little bit and I just feel like that's going to come with trust through the team, through my play. I feel like I have a say so, but not for real. I feel like I really holding no weight right now. I really haven't put in as much as the older guys put in, so I kind of stay up out of it. But with DBS wise, with the leadership, I'll say some guys try to come to me for more stuff, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I know a little bit more, exercise a little bit. So yeah, so I can kind of help them out. Austin Price: Jordan or LeBron? Rickey Gibson: I'm have to say LeBron. I ain't see Jordan play so I can't say Jordan. Austin Price: You can always go on YouTube. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, but in person, I seen LeBron. Austin Price: I know, but that begs the question. I don't even Rickey Gibson: Like LeBron. I really like Curry, but it's LeBron. Austin Price: If the best DB of all time played in 1988, but because you didn't see him play. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, I see what you're saying. I say Deion Sanders the best and I Austin Price: Haven't seen him seen him play. There you go. Rickey Gibson: You're Austin Price: Probably right. It's kind of like a certain seven on seven coach. He knows who he is said to me probably about four years ago, today's group of kids think CD Lamb is the goat receiver. Right? Because all they know that's who they see. You know what I mean? And I think that's a very fair assessment because people become prisoners of the moment. But I'm with you on Curry. He is really, really good. Rickey Gibson: He really nice Austin Price: For his Rickey Gibson: Size too. Really Austin Price: Nice. I mean the thing is he played for a long time at Davidson. He's an older guy. I mean he's pushing 36, so I mean how many more years can he play at that level? Rickey Gibson: I don't know because all he really doing is shooting. He ain't really having all that physical like LeBron. Austin Price: He's not, but the quickness and stuff, you know what I mean? Rickey Gibson: Yeah. But he coming off screens and stuff. You never know. Austin Price: You never know. You Rickey Gibson: Never know. Coming off streams. Austin Price: You're an Alabama kid. There's no pro sports in Alabama. Were you a pro sports guy growing up and if so, who did you of tend to root for in all pro sports? Rickey Gibson: So I can break it all down. Austin Price: Yeah. Rickey Gibson: Okay. So the NFL I'm really starting the bills. I'm starting like the bills, even though they're not doing that good with Josh Allen and Stefan, I like their defense. They defense all if you watch film on them, I know I on some, yeah, some more stuff. They watch film on 'em. They all in one unison. NBA, I got to say the Warriors because of Curry. I'm just a Curry fan. I get you wherever Curry go, I go for real. I'm bandwagon baseball. I haven't really watched baseball for real like that. Austin Price: Did you play baseball growing up? Rickey Gibson: I did. I really did. Austin Price: What'd you play? Rickey Gibson: Shortstop, infield. Second base. Austin Price: You a basketball guy in high school Rickey Gibson: I was okay. Austin Price: I was okay. But you played, Rickey Gibson: I had a video of me shooting a three, a Stepback three in Brony James face. Austin Price: Yeah, and bro James' face. Rickey Gibson: We were probably like 12, but I did it. Austin Price: You did it. I did it. It doesn't matter how old he was Rickey Gibson: For real. Austin Price: Favorite home cooked meal. Rickey Gibson: Rot tail. Austin Price: Is that a must? When you go home, and I know you don't get a ton of time to go home, but when you go home, is that like, Hey, this is what I want. Mama already Rickey Gibson: Have it Austin Price: Ready? She has it ready. Rickey Gibson: Promise she already have it ready? Roll tail and chicken. Austin Price: Favorite homemade dessert? Rickey Gibson: I don't know. We had made some smores on time. It was real good. Me and my mom made some s'mores. Austin Price: I remember back in the recruiting process. I know mom was very important to you. How important is that relationship? Rickey Gibson: Me and my mom relationship is very important. Also, my dad too. He has a very big say so as well. Austin Price: Sure. We don't want slight dad. We don't want slight dad. But you brought mom up. So Rickey Gibson: Yeah, but both of them, I really trusted them. They trusted me to make the right decision and I think I made the right decision. I know I made the right decision. Austin Price: What is it about being around aunts, grandma, grandpa, all those that have had an impact on you Rickey Gibson: Trying to take their advice? I know they've been here for a long time, so they seen it all. Did it all as they say. So I just really listening to 'em and not just kind of blowing 'em off because they old and really trying to listen to 'em and I try to talk to him a lot. Especially my granddad. My granddad. He has a lot of knowledge. I call him regular too. So Austin Price: What do you enjoyed most about Tennessee? Rickey Gibson: I'll say the fans. The fans. Just seeing them around and stuff like that. It's crazy. Austin Price: When you're on the ball walk, do you got the headphones on? I'm sure. Is it hard for you not to smile, walking down the ball, walk looking around? Do you have your head down? I mean you literally, you smile a lot. You're like the defensive version of Macallan Castles who always smiles himself. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, it is hard. I be trying to look down. I got to sometimes just look through my phone, flip through my phone. I'm not really even on enough for real. I'm just listening to music, flipping through my phone so I can't look at people. If I look at people, I'm going to smile. Austin Price: If you're planning the Gibson family vacation, where are we going? Rickey Gibson: Where are we going? I want to go to France or something like that. France. Austin Price: Why? Rickey Gibson: I just feel like it would be real. I'm a real calm person. I don't like too much craziness. I feel like they'll be real calm, cool senior just to walk around and look Austin Price: At So we don't need to take you to New York City? Rickey Gibson: Nah, it'd probably be too loud. I'd probably be going to go back. Go back home. Austin Price: I feel you. I feel you. What's one place on campus that you go to Clear the head. Rickey Gibson: I go to Chick-fil-A Austin Price: In the uc. Rickey Gibson: Sit down. I know I got to eat as well, so I just sit down. Austin Price: What's the go-to order? Rickey Gibson: I get a large fry. I get a cookies and cream milkshake? Austin Price: Yes. The best milkshake at a fast food Rickey Gibson: Restaurant and then I get an eight count chicken nugget and then I get a spicy deluxe and that's it. Austin Price: You're eating a lot though. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, Austin Price: For a little guy trying to pack on the pounds. Rickey Gibson: I try. I try. Austin Price: When you go to the nutrition bar over there and they're throwing the peanut butter milkshakes your way and all that stuff, what's your favorite thing to get in there? Rickey Gibson: Right now I start getting this bagel with the what? The bagel come with. Austin Price: Cream Rickey Gibson: Cheese. Cream cheese? Yeah. Strawberry cream cheese we got. I start getting that a lot. I get cereal from now on. Frosty Flakes. I like honey mustard peanuts. They're really good Austin Price: Too. Batman's superman. Spiderman. If you could be one who and why? Rickey Gibson: Superman X-Ray Vision can fly all that. I mean actually. Oh, he do got that. He got a weakness. I don't know if Batman got a weakness. Do he got a Austin Price: Weakness? Well, he's just a regular dude. Rickey Gibson: True Austin Price: In a suit? Rickey Gibson: I don't know. I do like Spider-Man. I don't know. Actually. I say Spider-Man. Austin Price: Everybody comes back to Spiderman. Spider-Man. It's really weird. I would never Big Spider-Man. I'm a Batman. You got Rickey Gibson: Got the instincts, all that you can Austin Price: Apply. You get the spiderwebs? Yeah. You a theme park guy or no? Rickey Gibson: Theme park? I can ride some roller coasters. Austin Price: Where do you like to go? Best of my knowledge, it looked like you had a good time at Universal back at the bowl game. Rickey Gibson: Oh yeah. I don't know what we had rode. I'm not riding that again though. Austin Price: The Veloc coaster, something like Rickey Gibson: That. Yeah. Austin Price: The one with the dinosaurs. Rickey Gibson: No, actually I think that one broke before we was about to get on it. Lily had stopped working. We had to go back on the bus, but it was another one. I'm not doing that one again. I told 'em I'm not doing that again. They tricked me. Austin Price: Yeah, the easiest way not to do that one again. What play good enough where you don't have to go back to the Citrus Bowl and you go to the bigger bowl. Rickey Gibson: Yeah, that's the plan. Austin Price: That is the goal. College football playoff as we discussed, Rickey Gibson: That is the goal. That would be nice. I can't wait. Austin Price: What one person that's off the field at Tennessee. I don't mean Coach Martinez or Coach Heel. Someone who is not an on the field coach Rickey Gibson: That has Austin Price: Had an impact on you. Rickey Gibson: I'll say my counselor. Ms. Vanessa. Ms. V. Even though I can talk to my parents about stuff too. Austin Price: Sure, Rickey Gibson: But I can talk to her as well. Same. I can kind of open up to her as well. Even though she might kind of clown me, which I know she'll give me that realism that I need to kind of snap back out of some stuff that I just need to snap back out of. Ms. Vanessa, Austin Price: What about the equipment managers? Rickey Gibson: Equipment managers, Austin Price: Hawk, forage, max. Rickey Gibson: Oh, I love Hawk. I love Hawk Hawk. Funny Hawk. My dog Austin Price: Horn. Everybody's wanting ready for Hawk to blow the horn because that means practice is over. Hit that Triple Horn Hawk. Rickey Gibson: Yeah. Austin Price: You a practice guy? Rickey Gibson: No, I like game. I like game. I like practice sometimes. It depends what we do in practice, but I like game Austin Price: Spring ball and then fall camp. How much of it because at fall camp, at the end of fall camp there's a game, right? Spring ball though, there's a game, but it's the spring game. How different is that? Rickey Gibson: We try not to make it as different because even though we facing a whole nother team at the end of the day, I'm still facing some good guys as well. So I know I still got to come on my A game. I can't just go out there just to go out there. So I don't think it's too different. Just keeping that speed. I just feel like the speed is different because we're going against a whole nother scheme and all that. So yeah, it's going to be different. But other than that, I don't think it's too different. Austin Price: For you, what's the ultimate goal? Rickey Gibson: NFL. First round. Austin Price: First round. NFL. Try Rickey Gibson: To be the first corner off the board. Yeah. Austin Price: And in a dream scenario, what team's picking you in this? Rickey Gibson: The Bengals, Austin Price: Not the Bes, not your favorite team. The Bengals. Why? Rickey Gibson: I don't know. You said that was the first one that came to my Austin Price: Head. You just want to stay in Orange. Rickey Gibson: The Bengals even, man. Actually I don't know. Yeah, the Bingos. I like Domingos. We'll go with the Bingos. Austin Price: What NFL player do you look up most to? I don't mean model your game after, it can be somebody that doesn't play db. If somebody's on, you're like, oh, I got to watch that. Rickey Gibson: Who would I say? I would say Jalen Ramsey. He kind of a chill low key guy as well. Austin Price: With the Dolphins now? Yeah, Rickey Gibson: So I would say Jalen Ramsey. I just like how he handled his stuff out. I like how he handled his business off Austin Price: The field. Best memories from high school is what? Rickey Gibson: Best memory? I would say my senior game, they had put me on offense and I hadn't ran a double move and I had talked to DB and I had dance, got a, I didn't get the flag, but my teammate got the flag and he had to do the up downs for it. So about it. Austin Price: But you scored? I Rickey Gibson: Scored. Favorite memory Austin Price: Now you really want to, will you break out the same dance if you score here? Rickey Gibson: For sure. Actually I don't know. It's kind of outdated now. I'll probably hit you with something else, but it might be a dance. Austin Price: When you're listening to music, what are you listening to? Rickey Gibson: I like Honcho. I like Lil Baby. I like young boy. Of course. Yeah. I think everybody like young boy. I got more people, but it is really just all on my playlist. For Austin Price: Real. Do you listen to the same thing for every game or is it totally different? Rickey Gibson: I try to keep it different. Try to keep everything fresh. Austin Price: Everything. If you could only pick one song to listen to before a game, what would it be? Rickey Gibson: Ooh, I don't know. I don't know. There's a lot. I'd say meat mill, not going to lie. Meat meal. Dreams are nightmares. The age is classic. It is always going to be good Austin Price: If you could score a touchdown on a pick six home or road. Rickey Gibson: Road. Austin Price: Why? Rickey Gibson: I just love when they cheering and then as soon as you catch it, everybody Austin Price: Silence. Rickey Gibson: You can hear a pin drop. I love that. I love it. So you just make it play. Everybody just then you be looking at the fans faces, they be all panicking. I love it. Austin Price: Who's one player heading into this season that people either don't know about or aren't talking about that you think is going to take a huge step to give you a perspective? I asked the same thing to James Pierce. He said, Jason Jenkins. So who is that for you? Rickey Gibson: I say Andre, Austin Price: Turn time. Rickey Gibson: Turn time. Austin Price: Number 17. If you keep 18, you always tell him you're one better than him. Rickey Gibson: He might be changing too. Austin Price: Everybody changes Rickey Gibson: Everybody Austin Price: As we get you out the door. What have you enjoyed most about Coach Banks? Coach High. Rickey Gibson: How They just keep it a hundred percent with me. How they always keep it a hundred percent with me. Even through the recruiting process, how they made me feel safe, like it's home and they're really my parents. I know I can trust them. If I go with them with a problem, they can give me their honest opinion. Or if they be like I'm slacking, they might be like, Hey Rick, come on, let's go. Let's go, let's go pick it up, pick it up. We expect big things out of you. So I really trust him. I trust him a lot. Austin Price: Well, they got a lot of trust in this guy and a lot of high hopes for him heading into this 2024 season spring ball. A week from today, Ricky Gibson is going to be one to watch for the next two, three years here on Rocky Top.