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Former Norte Dame and NFL defensive tackle Oliver Gibson has died at the age of 53, both his family and alma mater announced publicly on Tuesday (July 1).
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Oliver Gibson. We send our condolences to his family and friends," Notre Dame Football said in a post shared on its official Facebook account.
Gibson's cause of death wasn't revealed publicly as of Wednesday (July 2) morning. The former Notre Dame standout was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 120 overall in the fourth-round of the 1995 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons with the franchise, recording 42 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one fumble recovery in 60 appearances.
Gibson signed with the AFC North (then-AFC Central) Division rival Cincinnati Bengals in 1999 and made 57 starts in 73 total appearances during his final four NFL seasons, recording 201 tackles, 12 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, one interception and two fumble recoveries. Gibson, a former high school defensive player of the year, spent his collegiate career at Notre Dame playing under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Lou Holtz.
"Losing our brother Oliver Gibson is," Holtz's Heroes Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of Holtz, his players and his staff, said in a post shared on its X account following news of Gibson's death, “'Teammates are forever!' He always stayed in touched, made sure guys were alright & consistently scheduled reunions. Our thoughts & prayers are with the Gibson family. OG will never be forgotten, he impacted so many of us."