He missed two seasons due to an injury. How this Duke football player worked his way back.

Mark Gilbert is back after a physical and mental journey that forced him to miss two years of Duke football.

After an All-American caliber season in 2017, the cornerback from Fayetteville looked like he was going to be a strong contender for the NFL draft after his junior year. In the ACC, Gilbert, then a sophomore, ranked first in total passes defended (21), first in total passes defended per game (1.62), second in interceptions and second in interceptions per game (0.46) after starting 13 games that season. Nationally, he was tied for third in interceptions, tied for third in total passes defended per game and tied for third in total passes defended.

But, on Sept. 8, 2018, his rapid rise came to a screeching halt.

While covering a Northwestern receiver, the cornerback appeared to overextend his left leg. The season-ending dislocated hip injury resulted in surgery a day later. He was expected to return for the 2019 season.

That is until a second hip surgery forced him to miss fall camp.

Through therapy and rehab, the 6-1, 175-pound Gilbert hoped to return to the team, but he wondered at times “Was I ever going to play again?” When he realized he was going to go back to playing, he started having new worries.

“When I kind of realized I was gonna play again, it was the thought of ‘Was I gonna reach the elite level that I was playing in my sophomore year?’” Gilbert said. “But as everything progressed, as I started returning to practice again, I started gaining all my confidence back.”

Now, he’s back and he says he is better than before. He said his game IQ is higher, he’s becoming a smarter player, and has a more physical aspect to his game than he had before. He said, “I’m a lot stronger with being able to practice longer.”

Chris Hampton, Duke’s assistant coach and cornerbacks coach, said, “You would never know he was hurt from watching practice every day.”

‘Gilbert’s Island’ and appreciating the little things

Gilbert’s goal for this season is to get back to being a shutdown corner. He recognizes that he hasn’t played at an actual game speed in two years, something he knows he needs to work up to.

“Once I do that man, Gilbert Island will definitely be present,” Gilbert said.

Early in fall camp, redshirt junior cornerback Josh Blackwell emphasized the importance of having Gilbert back because of his leadership and ability to play with an edge that the group fed off of. Blackwell said off the field over the last two seasons, Gilbert has been teaching them the ropes and has been ‘huge’ for them mentally.

“Not having him for two years on the field has been detrimental, but I mean, it’s made people like me and Leonard Johnson that much better being leaders when he’s away,” Blackwell said. “But now that we have him back, I mean, we have us and then him on top of that to bring back that spark that we needed on the field.”

Gilbert said he focused on establishing the leadership role off the field and ‘being the most supportive’ person he could while he was injured. He said if roles were reversed, he’d want his leader to do the same.

‘Understanding the importance of school without football’

Gilbert’s time away made him miss and appreciate things like ‘being drained from practice.’

“Those blood, sweat and tears on our practice field, going out with your teammates,” Gilbert said. “You don’t realize how much you missed that until it’s taken away from you.”

However, it also showed him that he was taking school for granted ‘with the fast track’ he was on to the NFL. Gilbert ‘locked in’ on the books even more than he was before.

“It’s one of those light bulb moments to remind you,” Gilbert said, “understanding the importance of school without football.”

Co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri, who has known Gilbert since the cornerback was a sophomore in high school, confirmed that the same Gilbert everyone ‘knew and loved’ is back but more mature because of the adversity he faced.

“To see him grow and progress to who he is today,” Guerrieri said. “Not only what he is, he’s always been a talented dude, but who he is. That’s a special guy.”

Duke at Notre Dame

When: Sept. 12, 2:30 p.m.

Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

TV: NBC

This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 1:33 PM.