Chicago Bears Draft Cedar Hill’s Gipson
CEDAR HILL, TX– Trevis Gipson will begin his professional football career the same way he approached college football.
The 2015 Cedar Hill High School graduate looks to have a Pro Bowl career after being selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.
The Chicago Bears selected Gipson, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end, with the 155th overall selection.
“I am so appreciative of the Chicago Bears, and I look forward to playing alongside Khalil Mack, one of the best defensive ends in football,” Gipson said. “It’s an exciting moment.”
Five years ago, Tulsa was the lone NCAA Division I Program to offer Gipson a scholarship, and he made the most of that opportunity.
Now, he’s ready to make an impact in the land of frigid winters and deep dish pizza.
The Bears missed the playoffs at 8-8 last season, but they are just two seasons removed from a 12-4 record and an NFC North Championship. The future looks promising for the franchise, with fellow Texas native Nick Foles (Super Bowl LII MVP) recently joining the team at quarterback.
In a time of uncertainty due to COVID-19, Gipson knows that the process won’t be the same this year. He will begin virtual meetings with Bears coaches and players right away.
Highest Ever Draft Pick From Cedar Hill High School
Gipson, 22, is the highest-ever draft pick from CHHS and the third ever Longhorn selected, joining Josh Thomas (2011-Dallas, fifth round) and Dezmon Briscoe (2010-sixth round). He’s also the first player to be drafted from CHHS’ 2014 UIL State Championship Team; he was a senior on that team.
“I’m fired up,” said Joey McGuire, who was the Longhorns’ head coach while Gipson played for CHHS. “He’s a phenomenal kid who went to Tulsa and showed what he could do. I think he will flourish in Chicago and be a really productive player for a really long time.”
Gipson and Tulsa teammate Reggie Robinson (a cornerback drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round) represented the first Tulsa players drafted since 2011 and the first TU duo to be drafted in the same year since 1994.
As a high school senior, Gipson was a 6-foot-4, 205 pound defensive end. A fellow Texan named Philip Montgomery became the Tulsa Football Coach just nine days before Gipson and CHHS won their State Title.
Sure, Gipson had verbally committed to Tulsa under previous coach Bill Blankenship, but he was part of Montgomery’s first freshmen class.
Humble, Hungry & Disciplined
“Trevis made the most out of that one college offer,” Montgomery said. “He has done a sensational job of developing himself in getting to where he stands now, and he’s still humble and hungry. (At Tulsa), he was driven and relentless. Trevis is a tremendous worker and very disciplined.”
When Gipson settled in Tulsa, he immediately dedicated himself to the weight room, adding approximately 50 pounds of muscle.
Gipson redshirted in the fall of 2015, and a year later, he made his bowl debut as the Golden Hurricane rolled past Central Michigan, 55-10, in the Miami Beach Bowl.
A valuable member of the Golden Hurricane’s defensive unit, Gipson hit his stride as a junior, becoming a starting defensive end for the first time in his collegiate career. He finished with 114 career tackles, including 95 his final two years with the program.
He had a chance to play against top-level competition, including Texas and Oklahoma State.
Gipson graduated from Tulsa last December with a degree in Organizational Studies and a minor in Business Management and a minor in Coaching.
“It’s pretty important to me because football doesn’t last forever,” Gipson said. “I’ll have to hang the cleats up someday, and that’s where education plays a part in my life.”
