'07 OH CB/RB Brian Gamble (Illinois signee)

[bucknut11]

High praise from the Canton Repository

Five players to watch: Massillon
Thursday, October 27, 2005 TODD PORTER
Massillon


Brian Gamble
Running back/safety
6-foot, 190 pounds
SCOUTING GAMBLE Massillon’s offense starts, and usually ends, with the powerful junior. Gamble is a two-threat back because he runs great routes out of the backfield and often will motion to a slot wide receiver position in an empty backfield. He sees the field like he’s been a RB his entire life, although he was just moved there this season. He runs with force and speed. He doesn’t often go down on the first hit and has less than a half dozen carries in which he lost yards. He attacks the defense with a defender’s mentality — probably because he plays safety, although he hits like a linebacker. He plays both ways, plus he is the long snapper and returns kicks. The coaching staff usually rotates him out of the offense.


WHAT HE MEANS Coaches don’t just devise game plans around a player such as Gamble, but entire seasons are built around him. That is what Massillon has done. He lifts his team and fans. There is an energy when he finishes a run by bowling over a defender. He has a great attitude and isn’t selfish. Massillon doesn’t win Saturday without Gamble having a good game.

[gstock05]

I know at this point he's an athlete more than anything, but the more I see.. the more this kid looks like a freak. Anybody think he can play runningback? At 6'0 he has alot of room to add weight, and he's only a junior at 190 pounds. By the time he's a frosh here, he could be a 6'0 210 pound runningback who as evidenced by the articles has an awesome feel for the game, and great speed.

Of course, he could be a stud safety also, but I just like what I see at runningback.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I see him on the defensive side of the ball at the next level. Depends on his development.

[bucknut11]

From the game I saw, I would agree with that. He didn't seem to have that great vision you want out of a RB. Granted he hasn't been playing the position for long, but he looked more agressive on the defensive side of the ball.

[OSUBucks22]

Duane Long sees him at CB. I personally think he'll be a RB or a S. Maybe a S first, and then when Pittman graduates I could see a move to RB. But that depends on other RB's we were to get next year.

[BearBuck27]

Originally Posted by OSUBucks22

Duane Long sees him at CB. I personally think he'll be a RB or a S. Maybe a S first, and then when Pittman graduates I could see a move to RB. But that depends on other RB's we were to get next year.

I'm going to have to slightly disagree with you. I don't see him as a RB at the next level. BN11 analysis was right on. I don't think he just has good enough vision to be a RB, but he is a very tough and powerful runner for his size. He has excellent size to be a DB (CB or S). I really like him at safety and at corner. He reminds me of Winfield at Corner. He has no trouble to come up and jam you at the line and lay a lick on you in the flats. I think w/ all the S prospects in OH next year, he may end up at the CB spot in college.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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11/10/05

The Repository's Athlete of the Week: Brian Gamble

Thursday, November 10, 2005 <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=3 width=250 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>

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Brian Gamble
Massillon, junior
Running back-safety

Favorite class: Government.
Favorite teachers: Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Hornbrook.
Favorite TV show: “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Favorite movie: “Saw 2.”
Favorite video game: Halo 2.
GameBoy or PSP2: PSP2.
Favorite food: Lasagna.
Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner or Jennifer Aniston: JLo.
Favorite athlete: Ray Lewis. He has a killer instinct.
Favorite memory in your sport? Beating St. Ignatius. We were 0-8 in the series before then.
Favorite hobby or off-day activity: Golfing.
What sport do you admire that you don’t play? Soccer. You have to be in great shape.
Who is your most influential person? My family. They’re behind me in everything I do.
If you were in charge of high school football, what would you change? Nothing.
Who would you like to spend a day with? Shaquille O’Neal. Just to see how big he is.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Hopefully in the NFL. If not, then opening my own business and raising a family. Credentials: The 6-foot, 190-pound junior set the tone early in last week’s game with some big hits. Gamble’s play helped Massillon re-establish a physical presence in its first-round playoff win over North Canton Hoover. Gamble led Massillon with 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and two passes broken up. He also carried the ball 14 times for 146 yards (10.4 per carry) and scored two touchdowns, including an 80-yard run. Gamble, being recruited by Ohio State among others, also caught three passes for 70 yards and another TD. He accounted for 254 total yards in Massillon’s 45-14 win.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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11/20/05

Gamble helps in all phases for Tigers
Sunday, November 20, 2005 <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By JOSH WEIR
<TABLE style="MARGIN: 10px -3px 15px 5px; POSITION: relative" width=300 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>Related Stories
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McKinley-Massillon notebook

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Massillon’s on its way to Final Four

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AKRON - It was almost like when Rocky Balboa cut Ivan Drago during the final fight of “Rocky IV.”
“You see,” his trainer yelled, “he’s not a machine.”
The Massillon Tigers drew first blood on Saturday night at the Rubber Bowl, and doing the swinging was their heavyweight back, Brian Gamble.
Gamble bounced back from a quiet performance three weeks ago during the first Massillon-McKinley game to lead the Tigers to a 21-3 win against their archrival in a Division I, Region 2 high school football final.
“I felt like I shouldn’t have been stopped the first time we played them,” said the 6-foot, 190-pound junior. “I felt like I had to come out here and be a gamebreaker. We just set the tone from the start.”
Gamble rushed for 104 yards and a TD on 25 carries, caught two passes for 31 yards and threw a 49-yard scoring pass to Zack Vanryzin. He also helped hold McKinley to 200 total yards after the Bulldogs had rolled up 339 yards and 38 points in a Week 10 drubbing that had the Bulldogs looking invincible.
“Brian Gamble is just a great football player,” Massillon coach Tom Stacy said. “In my years at Massillon, and in high school, period, he’s the best football player I’ve been around. ... To play on both sides of the ball and have an impact like that, in this kind of game, you have to be pretty special.”
Gamble didn’t have any big runs, his longest being 13 yards. But it was his physical, tough play, along with a great job by the Tiger offensive line that probably had Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” playing in Massillon deep into the night.
On the Tigers’ first possession, Gamble caught a throwback screen in the center and started left before cutting all the way back across the field and down the right sideline to the McKinley 13. He finished the 19-yard play by barreling over a McKinley defender.
Two plays later, he finished the drive by breaking three tackles on his way to the right pylon and a 7-0 Massillon lead. The eight-play, 69-yard drive served notice that the Tigers were ready to play and, maybe more important, that McKinley was human.
“I think we underestimated them (in the first game), which was bad beca