Question for you: when was the last time the Max Preps National High School Football Player of the Year wasn’t a five star? You could go back to 2016’s high four star QB Tate Martell out of Bishop Gorman, but even he was rated a five star at one point during his cycle.
Before him, I don’t even know who it would be as the winners prior to Martell includes Derrick Henry, Kyler Murray and Derrick Brown, each of whom were rated five star prospects on 247 Sports.
It goes without saying that it takes an exceptional player to win this award… so who won it in 2024? Alabama star QB Keelon Russell? Oregon’s Five Star Dakorien Moore? How about Michigan wunderkind Bryce Underwood?
Nope. No. Negative. In fact, it was C/O 2025 three star WR Quentin Gibson. Here’s what MaxPreps had to say earlier this year:
The senior wide receiver joins the likes of Derrick Henry (2012), Kyler Murray (2013, 2014), Bryce Young (2019), Jaxson Dart (2020), Caleb Downs (2022) and D.J. Lagway (2023) as winners of the award.
Gibson led North Crowley to its best season in school history, going 16-0, winning the Class 6A Division 1 state championship and finishing ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound playmaker hauled in 93 receptions for 2,009 yards (ninth in state history) and 36 touchdowns (fourth in state history). He added a 75-yard touchdown pass, 40 yards rushing and two more scores and a punt return TD.
Gibson was named Offensive MVP of the state title game after posting seven catches for 181 yards and three touchdowns in a 50-21 win over Westlake (Austin).
Against No. 6 Duncanville in the semifinals, Gibson had five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-34 win. North Crowley snapped the Panthers' 16-game playoff win streak and ended their chance at a three-peat. Both TD receptions came on fourth down.
Gibson was a focal point on offense for the seventh-highest scoring team in the country. The Panthers averaged 54 points per game and broke the Dallas-area record with 864 points.
One of the most remarkable nuggets in all of that is that North Crowley, averaging 54 points per game, were only seventh highest in the country. Who the hell were the other six schools?!
Also of note, not only did Gibson lead his team to a victory over powerhouse Duncanville High, he went toe-to-toe with his five star Dallas metro counterpart in that contest:
Coming into the game there was a big buzz surrounding Duncanville star receiver and Oregon commit Dakorien Moore and North Crowley star receiver and Colorado commit Quentin Gibson. As everyone wanted to see who is the best receiver in Texas and the nation. After their 48 minutes of action, the answer is you can’t go wrong either way as both stars put on a show.
When the dust settled Moore finished with seven catches for 138 yards and one of the top five best touchdown catch and runs I’ve ever seen a high school kid make in person.
While Gibson hauled in five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns which included a 49-yard back breaking touchdown on fourth and three where Gibson double-moved the defensive back so bad he was able to dance into the end zone. Gibson’s touchdown was huge as it gave North Crowley a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter.
On top of that, in the spirit of Heisman winner Travis Hunter, both star wideouts played corner at times including guarding each other on a couple of occasions despite rarely if ever playing defense.
As mentioned above, Gibson was a super producer in Texas 6A football as a senior with an absurd 36 TDs, good for fourth all time in state history.
I loved watching his highlight tape. As a once long-time Philadelphia Eagles fan, Gibson’s player comparison came to mind almost immediately when I saw his build and how he runs.
In fact, I still remember when Andy Reid spent a second round pick on Cal’s DeSean Jackson in 2008, there was discussion about the nuance of his build. DJ, listed at 5’9, 170 pounds, was regarded as a small player for NFL standards.
However, he is a high waisted athlete, meaning he had the legs of a player taller than him. This provides longer stride length than would be typical for a ‘short’ athlete of 5’9 inches tall.
Gibson, listed at 5’9, 160 pounds, runs like a gazelle on his high school tape. Without knowing anything about his dimensions—and of course, I could be wrong and full of shit—I would guess that he is also a high waisted athlete (mins 2:50, 5:14 really show off his long strides, but just do yourself a favour and watch the whole highlight).
There’s a great article here from texasfootball.com on how Gibson overcame the odds to earn his first P4 offers this past September. In it, his high school coach offered this thought:
“When you look at Q, he’s not going to blow you away because he’s 6’3. He’s not going to blow you away because he’s a specimen. But he is the epitome of a true underdog.”
247 Sports’s Adam Munsterteiger also mentioned this when Gibson signed with Colorado in December:
"Gibson is naturally going to draw comparisons to current Buffs senior slot receiver LaJohntay Wester because of his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame and playing style.
Like Wester, Gibson is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He might not be one of the Buffaloes' top rated signees in this class, but I'd be surprised if Gibson does not have a role on Colorado's offense as a true freshman, and he will likely also be in the mix as a returner."
It’s clear why Gibson was under-recruited, and that is because his size is less than ideal for even the collegiate game, let alone the NFL level. However, the production and tape are just too good to ignore.
I imagine that that’s what a lot of FBS college coaches were thinking this fall as QG racked up offers including: Illinois, Kansas State, Memphis, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, SMU, TCU, Texas State, UNLV, Vanderbilt and Washington State.
Ultimately he chose Colorado despite a late push from TCU. Either landing spot probably would have been great for his skillset as both programs’ staffs have demonstrated a willingness to get the ball into the hands of their best players.
When we look at what Deion has done in his two years at Colorado, obviously there was the Heisman season from Travis Hunter last year where he caught 96 passes for 1258 yards and 15 scores. Before that there was Xavier Weaver, who led the Buffs with 68 receptions, 908 yards and four scores. CU had three players with 50+ receptions that season.
This year, Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams figures to be the WR1. The Millers (Omarion and Drelon) appear likely to fill in the other boundary role and in the slot, respectively. There is also former NC State transfer Terrell Timmons and C/O 2024 signee Kam Mikel.
Closing Thoughts / Outlook for 2025
I concur with Munsterteiger on his point about Gibson’s involvement on special teams. I would be shocked if we don’t see him returning at least a few punts and kickoffs in 2025. Snaps will be hard to come by in the WR room, but then again it is a largely unproven room that he enters.
We know a bit about Williams from his time at Tulsa. The true freshman broke out in November of 2024 and has the look of a true alpha WR at the P4 level, but we don’t know how he’ll translate up a level.
Drelon also had a solid a true freshman season last year, and will be the biggest impediment to Gibson’s playing time in my opinion as these two will be playing in the slot in 2025 if I had to guess.
Omarion is a total wildcard because his health has limited him in his first two years on campus. He’s had some big moments, but questions about his durability are warranted. Unfortunately for Gibson, it’s unlikely that he’d fill in Omarion’s role even if he were to go down.
However, I would offer this final thought for the readers: we saw two slots play considerable minutes each for the Buffs last year in La’Johntay Wester and Jimmy Horn. Wester had a good season from a CFF perspective averaging over 17 PPG. Horn’s output suffered accordingly as his PPG decreased from 13 the year before to seven.
I think Drelon will be taking over a lot of the snaps Wester leaves behind, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Gibson works his way into replacing Horn even as a true freshman in 2025.
Though it should be noted that Drelon (6’1, 205) technically has the build to play on the boundary and could probably do so if CU’s staff felt that they absolutely had to get Gibson on the field. That may not prove to be important for 2025, but it could be a significant fact to keep in mind for 2026. ◾
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Great article!