Sunday was a good day for the pros who came through Dinkytown. Former Gophers linebacker Jack Gibbens made a fourth-down stop for the Arizona Cardinals, and the Minnesota program posted the clip under its #pROWGophers tag. Gibbens is also on X as @Johngibbens18, which is where the "John" in some posts comes from.
He came to Minnesota after 4 years at FCS Abilene Christian, where he had 258 tackles, 7 sacks and 5 interceptions. In 2021 he took over the middle of the Gophers' defense from the opener against Ohio State. P.J. Fleck said at the time that Gibbens "fits perfectly with us — the program, the culture, the system."
He went undrafted in 2022 and spent 3 seasons with Tennessee before playing the 2025 season in New England. There he had 81 tackles, third-most among Patriots defenders, and 8 tackles for loss, and he played in 4 postseason games on New England's run to Super Bowl 60. Arizona signed the 6-foot-4, 245-pound linebacker to a 2-year deal in March.
In Dallas, Brevyn Spann-Ford was "doing work for the Cowboys" against Green Bay. For Gopher fans, it's extra satisfying to see it come against the Packers.
It was a big week for the St. Cloud native. On October 18, Dallas named Spann-Ford its starting tight end ahead of 2-time Pro Bowler Jake Ferguson. Ferguson had 15 catches for 102 yards through 5 games, and his drop led to a game-sealing interception in the Cowboys' Thursday night loss to Tampa Bay.
The promotion comes about a month after the Cowboys committed to him. Spann-Ford agreed to an extension on September 10 that keeps him in Dallas through the 2029 season. The team calls him one of its best in-line blocking tight ends and a key special teams contributor.
It's been a long climb from St. Cloud Tech. Spann-Ford spent 6 years at Minnesota, redshirting in 2018, and played in 60 games with 95 catches for 1,061 yards and 7 touchdowns. He signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent after the 2024 draft and made the 53-man roster that August. Gibbens followed a similar path: nobody drafted either of them, and both are now key players for their NFL teams.
