Linebacker Easton Gibbs bounces back at Wyoming's pro day

Mar. 20—LARAMIE — Easton Gibbs left Indianapolis earlier this month fairly disappointing with his results at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The University of Wyoming linebacker had an unofficial relative athletic score of just 4.36 out of a possible 10, which ranked 1,496 out of 2,649 linebackers since 1987. The RAS is a metric created by Kent Lee Platte to measure an individual's overall athleticism based on combine results in multiple categories.

The RAS system graded his composite size and explosiveness as "poor" while his overall speed grade was "good."

Gibbs had the opportunity to make up for his disappointing showing at the combine during UW's pro day Tuesday morning. While official results have yet to be posted, Gibbs feels confident he was able to showcase his skills across the board.

"Shoot, probably just about everything," Gibbs said about what he improved on during pro day. "I didn't jump too well in Indy. I think I was like (9 feet, 1 inch) on the broad. I jumped 9-8 today. (My vertical) was about a 31 in Indy, and I went 34 1/2 today. That was encouraging.

"I built on the field work that we did. I'm not sure what I ran on the (40-yard dash), but I felt good in the agility stuff. Shoot, I was just looking forward to today to kind of erase what happened in Indy. I had a good time."

Gibbs was one of two Cowboys to accept invites to the combine, with the other being offensive tackle and Laramie native Frank Crum. UW's standout lineman was all smiles when asked about Gibb's performance during the school's pro day.

"That was awesome for him to come out here (like that)," Crum said. "I know he had a tough schedule at the combine that kind of set him up for failure honestly, and he came out here and really cleaned it up, which I knew he could do.

"He knew he could do this, and thank God he had two chances, because he helped himself today."

Gibbs and Crum joined quarterback Andrew Peasley, wide receiver Ayir Asante, tight ends Colin O'Brien and Treyton Welch, cornerbacks Jakorey Hawkins and Deron Harrell, defensive tackle Cole Godbout and punters Clayton Stewart and Ralph Fawaz as draft-eligible players to participate in pro day.

Jay Sawvel, who took over as UW's head coach in December, felt Tuesday's pro day had a positive impact on several players' draft stock, including Gibbs.

"It was really important for (Gibbs), because he didn't do everything at the combine, and I know a couple things he did do at the combine he wanted to improve upon," Sawvel said. "He ran solid, his jumps were better today, he benched better (and) those types of things.

"Some of the things he wanted to get done, he was able to get done. Of all the people, I thought probably Easton and Treyton kind of had the most to gain by having a good day. Treyton really had a good day, and I think Easton helped himself, too."

Gibbs credits being in familiar territory inside the Indoor Practice Facility as a big factor in his improvements from the combine in Indianapolis.

"The combine, I was so nervous," Gibbs said. "I felt like half the drills I did, I was like blacked out and don't even remember what happened. Coming into today, (my goal) was just to be loose. I got a little bit more warmup time here, which helped a lot. The comfort of being back in Laramie was a huge factor."

Gibbs concluded his UW career No. 8 in school history in total tackles with 362. He finished last season ranked No. 13 among all active Football Bowl Subdivision players in total tackles and was a first team All-Mountain West selection the past two seasons.

Gibbs will spend the next month grinding away in the gym while anxiously awaiting his fate in the draft. The NFL draft runs April 25-27 in Detroit.

"It's been really good feedback (from NFL teams), especially on the film side," Gibbs said. "They like my film. It's really just coming down to where I fit, I think. I'm a smaller guy for the linebacker position, but when they turn on the tape, they like what they see, and I kind of wanted to validate that with numbers today, because I know I didn't do my best at the combine.

"So, I'm just enjoying the process, and I'll hopefully land on my feet somewhere and go from there."

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.