After being kicked out of Ohio State for Autumn Semester after a violation of the student code of conduct, former wide receiver Torrance Gibson has signed a Letter Of Intent with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. It appears Gibson will play quarterback for the Bulldogs.
FOOTBALL | Another LOI in the #MGCCC inbox. Welcome, @quick_tg6. pic.twitter.com/ySZDVPUBm5
— MGCCC Athletics (@MGCCCathletics) December 13, 2016
Gibson's name also appears in the National Junior College Athletic Association Letter of Intent database:
Mississippi Gulf Coast issued the following statement to Eleven Warriors:
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast has signed quarterback Torrance Gibson to an NJCAA letter of intent.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from Plantation, Fla., is transferring from Ohio State. He will enroll on the Perkinston Campus in the spring.
“We are looking forward to having Torrance join our football program,” Bulldogs coach Chad Huff said. “We are confident in his abilities on the field and his character off the field, and we expect him to contribute to our team and the Gulf Coast community.”
For more information on MGCCC’s 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
Gibson, however, insists his move to Mississippi Gulf Coast is not set in stone and that the school's tweet announcing his letter of intent was “false information.”
Signing a Letter Of Intent with a junior college does not prevent a student-athlete from signing another with a Division I program. So Gibson could transfer to another FBS program if he chooses, though he has a spot reserved at MGCCC, which starts classes this spring on Jan. 9. It also appears his time at Ohio State is over.
An Ohio State spokesman told Eleven Warriors on Tuesday that he doesn't have any information at this point with regards to Gibson's future with the program, which makes sense since he is still suspended. Ohio State's Autumn Semester and thus Gibson's suspension from the University ends on Wednesday when final exams draw to a close.
Urban Meyer said on Aug. 29—the day the Buckeyes announced Gibson's suspension—that he disagreed with it: "It was not an athletic department, not a football team [decision]."
Meyer said a day later on the Big Ten teleconference that he had "zero indication" that Gibson wanted to leave Ohio State.
“I believe that is the plan [for him to stay]. This all just kind of happened within the last week so we're still dealing with it,” Meyer said. “I have zero indication that he wants to leave.”
Wide receivers coach Zach Smith reiterated his boss's thoughts in September and said Gibson remained in Columbus despite his suspension. A spot at Ohio State come January was there for the taking should Gibson want it, Smith said. The Buckeyes begin classes for Spring Semester on Jan. 9.
“We just have to stick to the plan and go through the process,” Smith said then.
A four-star quarterback recruit from American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Gibson had not played a snap for the Buckeyes. He switched to wide receiver during 2015 fall camp with the hopes of playing last season as a true freshman, but an ankle injury and bout with immaturity ultimately caused a redshirt.
Before he got suspended, Gibson said he still dreamed of playing quarterback at the college level even though he considered his shift to wide receiver complete.
“I'm living in the present ... (This year) I'm playing fast,” Gibson said on Aug. 16. “I was playing real slow. If you guys could watch film, I was not running. But now I'm running, I'm learning the offense."
But now it appears Gibson has the opportunity to play quarterback once again in college, albeit not at Ohio State.
