Gilbert's extraordinary athleticism is reflected in videos of him jumping out of pools and squatting and deadlifting more than 600 pounds. Those videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube, and you can take a look at both of them after the jump.
Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo says Bears fans are going to like what they see in Gilbert.
"Last night when we reconvened with the scouts and our coaches we felt that we had three players we were real comfortable with,'' Angelo said, per the Chicago Sun-Times. "The way it came out, a couple of players were gone, one of them was there Gilbert. He has a lot of flexibility. We really didn't expect him to be there but we felt that we wanted to. Feel he is going to be a very good pass rusher for us. Maybe he isn't 100 percent prototype of the defensive lineman we're used to seeing because he's very tall. But he's very, very talented. Dick Tomey couldn't say enough good things about him. He did come on his senior year. I think he is ready to go."
He looks like he's ready to go. Here's one more video, which gives a better indication of what kind of football player Gilbert is:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-26-2009 @ 1:59PM
mike said...
That first video is amazing. For a 300-pound man to be able to jump three feet straight up, with the resistance of the water, shows an unbelievable amount of explosive power in the legs.
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5-01-2009 @ 12:22PM
becky said...
Take a closer look at the rope spring up at the right side of the pool assisting him up out of the water!!! I don't think so! I'm not fooled.
Great strength in the squat and good upper chest spot also!! SUPER idea for a publicity stunt but, come on people, don't be so naive!!!!
4-27-2009 @ 11:22AM
ronman189 said...
If Soldier Field is ever flooded, we got our guy! Just kidding. I was pleased overall with the Bear's draft but wondered why they bothered picking another TE even in the 7th round. Wouldn't it have been better to pick a "need" and hope lightning strikes?
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4-30-2009 @ 2:11PM
rrmc100 said...
that dude is an absolute monster!!! why the hell wasn't he a top ten pick??? NFL scouts suck like hell
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4-30-2009 @ 4:47PM
rbtltd said...
eXCEPT BEARS SCOUTS! GO BEARS!!
4-30-2009 @ 2:27PM
CoolRep said...
forget size, jumping out of pool like that is amazing no matter who, what size the person is.
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4-30-2009 @ 3:59PM
forrealdog2 said...
hey we had a white guy that could do that at Dora high school a few years back at 6ft he could dunk with both hands and could squat and dead lift over 600 lbs and ran a 4.4 forty ...a true freak of nature...he was a border-line student (c at best)dwalked on at West Alabama and started the first game and had a great game. He had a terrible car accident and took him out of sports but he was like a Jack Dempsey or a Rocky Marciano...a true wonder
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4-30-2009 @ 4:06PM
donfidler said...
think I'll just call him "SIR"
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4-30-2009 @ 4:11PM
Chris said...
It's no big deal. He doesn't jump 3 feet in the air, he jumps and bend his knees to get his feet on the pavement. He probably only actually jumped a foot or two, which is no big deal.
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5-01-2009 @ 7:46AM
alotafach said...
You are high.
5-01-2009 @ 10:57AM
Terrill said...
but do you notice, it wuz out of the pool, dumbass
4-30-2009 @ 4:21PM
awrightsdch said...
Do you think if he missed the edge hit his head and died from a concussion before he ever played in the NFL he would be thought of as impressive or just another stupid jock?
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4-30-2009 @ 4:57PM
mbs190 said...
Plenty of so called athletes have been self promoters. The only that matters here if he can play on Sundays.
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4-30-2009 @ 5:29PM
joeljoey5160 said...
Angelo has great success with his middle round (3,4,5th round)picks. He sucks in the first round though.
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4-30-2009 @ 5:56PM
Marlene said...
This is all great stuff and all, but the NFL is a whole nother animal! We'll SEE!
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4-30-2009 @ 6:58PM
denny valotjr said...
i cant wait to see him play
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4-30-2009 @ 7:13PM
todd said...
Doesn't make a diff.....the Bears still suck.. How about signing a decent receiver to go with the cry baby cutler
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4-30-2009 @ 7:58PM
starr15pak said...
He'll get hurt in the dreaded Pre-Season and never heard from again. The odds are it will happen.
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4-30-2009 @ 8:19PM
3rd force said...
I wonder if the Bears have thought of lining him up at blocking back like another, less mobile, DL from about 25 years ago?
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5-01-2009 @ 6:31AM
JOEY said...
I am a Bears fan glad to have him, hopefully he works out. but pool jump is assisted by something. look at his feet area right before the jump and you can see some kind of water preasure at his feet level/bottom of pool
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