FAYETTEVILLE -- Johnny Gibson is a loser, Arkansas strength coach Trumain Carroll asserts.
Not only a loser, but "the biggest loser" Carroll and Gibson say smiling.
The 6-4 starting senior right guard Gibson, from Dumas, was the biggest man on the offensive line of last year's 4-8 Razorbacks, but he now stands a bigger man in the eyes of Carroll, new Arkansas head coach Chad Morris and new offensive line coach Dustin Fry.
"Altogether since January when they first arrived, I lost 28 pounds," Gibson said. "I went from 347 to 319."
Gibson said he notices feeling "a big difference."
"I feel crazily different," Gibson said.
How did he lose it?
"A lot of hard work," Gibson said. "We did a lot more running and coach Tru helped me do things. A lot of extra work. From extra running to the Stairmaster. Just the extra work they put me through."
He discovered he weighs less from eating more. Well, eating more often.
"My diet changed quite a bit," Gibson said. "I had to eat more regularly and less volume at one time. So, instead of eating a lot at one time I would eat something every two or three hours."
If Gibson performs like the staff believes he will, Carroll will have a star example for years to come of what adhering to a conditioning and diet regime can do.
"He's looking lean and mean and he's able to move a lot better," Carroll said. "Able to bend and able to ... His conditioning level has been raised tremendously from when we saw him in January."
Morris marvels, "Johnny Gibson has transformed his body."
Just another marvelous Gibson transformation considering despite his size and stamina to play both ways on the Dumas offensive and defensive lines, Gibson fell through the recruiting cracks. He was actually a football walk-on attending Arkansas on academic scholarship after being a finalist for the Air National Guard Scholarship Award.
Originally a Mechanical Engineering major with hours he found incompatible with football, Gibson still has big academic plans.
"I graduate in December in sociology," Gibson said. "Combining engineering and football was pretty tough. I still want to be an engineer and might come back and finish my engineering degree."
An NFL opportunity might come first if Gibson moves this year like the staff anticipates.
Between being more agile and always so smart that he's practiced at every line position at some point of a Razorbacks career that began with him redshirting in 2014 and lettering thereafter, including five starts in 2016 and 12 starts last season. Gibson starts now at right guard but could play anywhere if needed.
"Playing four positions wasn't great for him but he has played that (center) position before," Fry said. "So, he's got the experience. He's a smart kid. He's leaned down and is moving so well."
Even well enough to maybe to be a tackle taking on speed-rushing defensive ends.
"He could do that position," Fry said. "Obviously, not the prototypical size and body you want there, but he could get the job done."
Gibson recalled huffing and puffing in the spring adjusting to Morris' hurry-up, no-huddle offense after four years of the huddle up, methodical, ball control pace that former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema espoused.
"In the spring it was a struggle trying to keep up with it," Gibson said. "We just tried to make it through the spring. I took advantage of the summertime to be offensive full go like we need to be."
How about center? Could he answer such a snap decision?
"They told me over the summer to work on snapping a little bit and I would do it a few days at a time and do some drills," Gibson said. "Be comfortable if they need me to work there. But right now they have me focusing on playing guard and if I need to do anything else they'd let me know."
Gibson said how the new staff has treated him and the seniors made him all the more ready willing to make the changes required.
"They came in and with the seniors didn't even make us feel like there was a change," Gibson said. "They came in with some changes but they did it to the best of their ability to make us feel we weren't outcasts. They didn't come in and say we're taking over and changing everything. They told us whatever we put in front of you all, you all be the first ones to take advantage and do what we need to do and bring everybody else along."
Sports on 08/20/2018