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Gilbert Excels During 2017 Campaign
By Leslie Gaber, Duke Sports Information
Duke’s defensive unit is on pace for one of its best seasons in the last five years with sophomore cornerback Mark Gilbert becoming a key piece of that success.
Gilbert had not one, but two interceptions in the Nov. 25 regular season finale at Wake Forest, helping the Blue Devils secure bowl eligibility for the fifth time in six years. His second pick came on Wake Forest’s final drive of the game, sealing a 31-23 victory as the Blue Devils ran out the clock.
“It felt great,” Gilbert said of the game. “I contributed to us clinching bowl eligibility. It was great for myself, great for the team, great for the program and great for the university.”
The sophomore was one of two Blue Devils to garner first team All-ACC honors at the end of the regular season, joining linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, who has also figured largely into Duke’s defensive success this fall. Gilbert was the leading vote getter among the conference’s cornerbacks, while safety Jeremy McDuffie and defensive tackle Mike Ramsay were defensive teammates honored on the all-league teams.
“Mark is a huge play maker,” Ramsay said. “He is going to be a great, great football player. He already has done some amazing things. I’m really impressed with how great he’s been. He is still really young, so to see him come in and make these incredible plays is really impressive.”
After completing a standout football and basketball career at Fayetteville’s Terry Sanford High School, Gilbert enrolled at Duke in January of 2016. He transitioned to the collegiate level under the tutelage of Breon Borders and Bryon Fields Jr., elder statesmen in the defensive back group assistant coach Derek Jones has dubbed “The Coalition.”
“They get us going,” Gilbert said of his veteran teammates. “I learned so much from them. I soaked up everything I could from Breon while he was here and from Byron throughout the whole season.”
A third team All-ACC selection as a senior in 2016, Borders ranked among the ACC leaders in passes defended before suffering a hip injury late in the year. The loss of Borders pressed Gilbert into action, with the true freshman earning starts in the final three games of 2016, against North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Miami. He totaled 18 tackles over the course of his freshman year, booking a season-high seven in the win over the Tar Heels.
Gilbert has become a mainstay in the starting lineup this fall, contributing to a defense that has placed itself among the nation’s best in a myriad of categories, including in defensive touchdowns, fourth down defense and passing yards allowed per game. The in-state product recorded a season-best eight tackles Oct. 7 at Virginia and, heading into December’s Quick Lane Bowl, has matched former Blue Devil Erwin Sampson (1989) for the program’s single-season record with 19 passes defended this fall.
With 13 pass breakups and a team-high six interceptions to his name, Gilbert has combined with Fields Jr., to form one of the top corner duos in the ACC.
“I would say the biggest adjustment was learning more about the game,” Gilbert says of joining the starting lineup. “How to prepare going in each game. Senior Bryon Fields [Jr.] has really helped me big time in that area. You have to have a very short term memory out there. We love it.”
As a Fayetteville native, Gilbert has been grateful for the opportunity to remain in state, work towards his Duke degree and help lead the Blue Devils back to a bowl game.
“You feel like you are representing your town, your family and your whole support system,” he says. “My parents are able to go to every game. We’re very close to home. It is great to be able to do it around your loved ones.”
Gilbert’s familial support system includes a number of talented athletes in their own right. His uncle, Sean Gilbert, was the No. 3 overall selection in the 1992 NFL Draft following a successful career as a defensive lineman at Pitt, and went on to play 11 professional seasons – including several with the Carolina Panthers. Gilbert’s father and younger sister have excelled on the hardwood, while his cousin, Darrelle Revis, has put together an NFL career that speaks for itself. With more than 10 seasons of experience in the league, Revis has garnered a host of NFL Pro Bowl selections, been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year (2009) and captured a Super Bowl title in 2014 with the New England Patriots.
Revis’ consistency as one of the league’s top defensive backs has given rise to the “Revis Island” moniker – patrolling a part of the field where receivers are made to feel stranded. That style of play has clearly inspired Gilbert, whose Instagram account is full of references to his own island.
With a successful regular season in the books for Duke’s defense, and focus shifting to earning bowl game victory, Gilbert also has his sights set on reaching new heights – both as a team and individually – in the next two seasons.
“He has done a great job, especially coming in early,” Ramsay says of his younger teammate. “I feel like he just hit the ground running. He really absorbed the defense and learned and picked up really quickly. He has also just done a great job working really hard and really contributing to this team. He’s done an incredible job.”
“Getting back to a bowl game, it says a lot about the program,” Gilbert notes. “We are on the rise and we are still on the rise. I want to just have another big year and to contribute as much as I can to this team and this program.”
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