Mark Gilbert (American football)

Mark Gilbert Jr. was born on June 1, 1997, to Tonya and Mark Gilbert. He was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His uncle is Sean Gilbert, a former Pro Bowl defensive tackle, and his cousin is Darrelle Revis, a four-time All-pro and Super Bowl champion. Gilbert attended Terry Sanford High School, where he played football and basketball.[1]

Rated as a three-star recruit coming out of high school, Gilbert chose to attend Duke University. Going into his freshman year, Gilbert was nominated as a second-team all-ACC freshman. He played in 12 games during his freshman year, starting three of them. In his sophomore year, Gilbert was nominated as a fourth-team All-American before the beginning of the season. Gilbert broke numerous records in his sophomore year, one of which being him becoming the only player in Duke history with 5 or more interceptions and 15 or more passes defended in a single season. In week 2 of his Junior year against Northwestern, Gilbert suffered a season-ending hip injury that caused him to miss the rest of the 2018 college football season, and the entirety of the 2019 college football season. Leading into the 2020 college football season, Gilbert was invited to the NFL combine but opted to remain at Duke. During his fifth year at Duke, he started two games for the Blue Devils before being forced to undergo season-ending surgery on his right foot.[2]