Daren K. Gilbert (October 3, 1963 – August 4, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for four seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. After playing college football for

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, the Saints selected him in the second round (38th pick overall) of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also he ...

. During his four-year NFL career, Gilbert appeared in 42 games.

Early life and education

Gilbert was born on October 3, 1963, in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. As a youth, Gilbert played football and soccer. He played

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

as well as

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

in football. An injury to his left hand as a child forced him to use his right hand as well and become ambidextrous, which accounted for his ability to play on both sides of the line. Gilbert attended

Manuel Dominguez High School Manuel Dominguez High School is a four-year public high school located in Compton, California. It is part of the Compton Unified School District. Name Dominguez High School is named after Don Manuel Domínguez, a California rancher. Domínguez in ...

in Compton, and after graduating from there, enrolled at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. He was a member of their football roster in 1981, his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

year, and became one of the two starting offensive tackles by his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educati ...

season. He continued as starter in his junior season and was named a second-team all-conference selection. Weighing 285 pounds and standing six feet, six inches, Gilbert was described as having "extremely quick feet" and being "very agile" for his frame, which was credited from him playing soccer when young. He was named first-team all-conference as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1984.

Professional career

Gilbert was selected with the 38th overall pick of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also he ...

by the

, being a second round selection. He is the highest-selected player ever to come from Cal State, Fullerton, and was the highest-drafted lineman to come from a PCAA school. He was also selected in the

1985 USFL Territorial Draft The 1985 USFL Territorial Draft was the third Territorial Draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 3, 1985, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Under the previous 2 territorial drafts, each team had 5 designat ...

, but opted not to play in that league. In his first year with New Orleans, Gilbert played as a backup on both sides of the offensive line and appeared in all 16 games that season. In , Gilbert appeared in nine games, helping the Saints compile a record of 7–9. Following two years of developing while a backup, Gilbert saw his first time as a starter in early due to an injury to

Jim Dombrowski James Matthew Dombrowski (born October 19, 1963) is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. Dombrowski played college football ...

. He started five games at left tackle that year, which was the first season the Saints compiled a winning record and made the playoffs. He was re-signed for the season, In the 1988 season, he started six of the final seven games due to injuries to other linemen. Gilbert was released with an injury settlement in .

Personal life and death

Gilbert's son, Jarron, played in the NFL from to . Gilbert died in August 2022, at the age of 58. He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

Early life and education

Professional career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading