Land O'Lakes receiver Eddy Gibbs is learning to be a reliable first option for Drew Weatherford.
By JAMAL THALJI
Published September 26, 2003
LAND O'LAKES - Eddy Gibbs doesn't mind being alone.
The Land O'Lakes receiver doesn't mind being out there by himself, lined up wide of star quarterback Drew Weatherford with open field in front of him and the ball coming his way.
Gibbs doesn't mind the pressure of being the first option of the passing attack. He enjoys being the focus of the secondary. To him, there is nothing better that having it all riding on his shoulders.
"I like it because I'm by myself, I don't need someone else to help me do what I do," Gibbs said. "When I was a running back, a running back needs a line to block. But as a receiver I'm out there by myself.
"If I do it wrong, it's on me, I need to pick myself back up. That's just the way I like it."
It may take 11 players to execute a play, but to Gibbs it takes only one to make a play.
For a Land O'Lakes team rebuilding one of the state's most productive passing attacks from last season, Gibbs needs to do just that. He leads Pasco County with 16 receptions and is second in yardage (211) and tied for second in touchdowns with two in three games. He averages 13.2 yards a reception.
But then, Gibbs has some big cleats to fill: split end Logan Payne, now a freshman at Minnesota, who led the state with 72 receptions and 21 touchdowns last season and had a county-record 1,251 yards. Gibbs needs to be the first option that Payne was, but he is just getting started.
Or so the Gators hope, because the passing game is a work in progress. Weatherford may be headed to Florida State, but the offense was looking for direction after a 14-6 loss at Zephyrhills to open the season.
Dropped passes were a problem in that game, and Weatherford's first interception was a rocket that ricocheted off Gibbs and into the arms of a defender.
"I was just going to cradle it," Gibbs said, "and it came so fast it bounced right off me. I don't even know how the guy behind me got it."
An adrenaline-fueled Weatherford throws the ball harder during a game than in practice, and Gibbs and other receivers have had to adjust. Gibbs also needed to make other adjustments.
"I just think it was focus," Gibbs said. "In the beginning of every season, every game, I've got nerves, and this is the first year I've started at receiver. I'm still nervous, but now I'm starting to focus more, to have fun catching the ball."
Gibbs expects to make more plays because he is dropping fewer passes.
"There were struggles," Gibbs said, "but I'm getting more comfortable. I think the last two games there's been one ball I should have caught. I laid out for it, but I should have had it. I haven't dropped a ball in practice and I haven't missed a beat. I'm getting more consistent."
Said Weatherford: "He's gotten better each game, and we kind of knew going into the season that's how it would be, with him being a running back last year and not playing much receiver."
Coach John Benedetto hoped for a more explosive passing game when he moved Gibbs to receiver. But the big plays haven't materialized, and the team is trying to figure out why.
"He's the kind of guy that we need to get in the open field so that he can make plays for us," the coach said. "He's made plays being able to catch the football for us, but we haven't sprung him loose yet. He hasn't caught a 75-yard pass for a touchdown yet, and that's what we're working on."
The problem may be that teams have had a year to dissect the Gators passing game. "It's all the zones," Gibbs said. "They know how Drew throws, all the quick outs and the stuff we do."
But those big plays will come, Gibbs said.
"I haven't had a chance to make any yet," he said. "But in time, it will come."
