St. Petersburg Catholic offensive tackle Reilly Gibbons flipped his oral commitment from Miami to Stanford on Saturday evening, according to his father, Shannon.
Speaking from Palo Alto, Calif., where Reilly Gibbons is taking an unexpected official visit to Stanford, Shannon Gibbons said his son scheduled the trip because he wanted to be sure about his decision. His only other previous official visit was to Miami, and he committed to the Hurricanes on April 8 in a ceremony in the St. Petersburg Catholic gymnasium.
Reilly Gibbons is a 6-5, 302-pound left tackle and was one of most recruited players in Tampa Bay with 47 offers. He was a Times all-county and all-Suncoast pick this past season after paving the way for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, and also earned first-team Class 3A all-state honors.
Shannon Gibbons declined to say when the official visit to Stanford was planned, but said it was his son's decision.
"This is all driven by Reilly,'' he said. "He's a young kid and he's matured during this process and he has a pretty good idea what he wants and how he wants to get there."
Shannon Gibbons said he was surprised when Reilly suggested the visit. He has another son, 6-4, 255-pound freshman Dillan, who starts for St. Petersburg Catholic and will play games on Friday nights, making it difficult for the family to now see Reilly play.
"But those are my own or my wife's selfish reasons,'' Shannon said.
Gibbons decided he'd rather attend Stanford than Miami on Saturday evening. Shannon Gibbons said his son called Miami immediately to inform them of his decision.
"Reilly is a really smart kid and he wanted the best possible education he could get along with the best football, and Stanford was one of those schools that offered both,'' Shannon Gibbons said.