Justin Rodrell Gilbert (born November 7, 1991) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the Sioux City Bandits of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

(NAL). He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

with the eighth pick in the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. He has also been a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

Gilbert attended Huntsville High School in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

, where he was a three-sport star in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track. He played as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the Huntsville Hornets football team, and was a two-time district MVP. He was a '' SuperPrep'' All-region selection and was ranked by that publication as the No. 51 player in Texas. As a junior, he accumulated 785 passing yards and 628 rushing yards. In his senior year, he rushed for over 1,000 yards with nine

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and passed for over 800 yards. Also a standout

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

athlete, Gilbert was one of the state's top sprinters. He captured two regional titles at the 2010 State 3-4A Regional, winning the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, with a time of 10.47 second, and the 200-meter dash, with a time of 21.29 seconds, while also placing second in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

(6.78 meters) and anchoring the 4x100 squad to a second-place finish. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Gilbert was listed as the No. 37 athlete in the state of Texas in 2010.

College career

Gilbert attended

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

between 2010 and 2013. As a true freshman in 2010, Gilbert was a backup

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. For the season he had 18

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and returned two kickoff returns for touchdowns. He was named a freshman All-American by Rivals.com. As a sophomore in 2011, he had 48 tackles, five

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s and two kickoff return touchdowns. He was the defensive MVP of the 2012

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

. As a junior in 2012, he had 53 tackles and one kickoff return for a touchdown. He nearly entered the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

but decided against it. As a senior in 2013, he set the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

record for kickoff return touchdowns with six. He was also a finalist for the

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athle ...

. Gilbert won the 2013 College Football Performance Award as the nation's top defensive back.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Gilbert was considered one of the top cornerback prospects for the

. Gilbert was selected with the eighth pick in the first round by the

. After a slow start to his rookie season, when he had missed two games with an illness and a heel injury, Gilbert played in Week 14 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

when teammate K'Waun Williams was injured. He ended the game with four tackles and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. The Colts won 25–24.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 3, 2016, Gilbert was traded to the

for a 2018 sixth-round draft pick. After not seeing the field in Week 1 against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, Gilbert made his Steelers debut against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

on September 18, playing exclusively on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. After another week of special teams duty against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Gilbert made his debut on defense against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on October 2, covering

Travis Kelce Travis Michael Kelce ( ; born October 5, 1989) is an American professional American football, football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NF ...

. Through the first 10 weeks, he played only 11 defensive snaps and was mainly used on kickoff coverage, but he returned three kickoffs for 69 yards. During the 2016 season, Gilbert played in 12 games, recording one solo tackle and assisting on two others. He also made his NFL postseason debut, playing against the Chiefs and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, returning three kickoffs for 43 yards. On February 6, 2017, Gilbert was released by the Steelers. On June 20, 2017, Gilbert was suspended by NFL commissioner

Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who has served as the National Football League Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) since 2006. Goodell began his NFL career in 1982 as an admi ...

for one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Sioux City Bandits

On January 13, 2023, Gilbert signed with the Sioux City Bandits of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). On December 18, 2023, he re-signed with the Bandits for their first season in the

(NAL).

References

External links

Oklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Justin 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Houston American football cornerbacks American football return specialists Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Cleveland Browns players Pittsburgh Steelers players All-American college football players People from Huntsville, Texas Sioux City Bandits players