Athlete of the Week: DeShawn Gilbert

Athlete: Senior DeShawn Gilbert

Sport: Varsity Football

Age/Height/Weight: 17, 5-feet 6-inches, 139 pounds

Position: Wide receiver and corner back

Stats: Gilbert is a triple-threat on the field as he has amassed (in five games) 451 yards rushing on 20 attempts, has caught 13 passes for 168 yards and has an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown this season. At Saturday's game against Centerline, he had 263 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns. Gilbert was 4-7 passing for 73 yards and one touchdown and one interception.

Coach's View: Clawson football head coach Jim Sparks relies on Gilbert's leadership and skills to help make the Trojans a great team.

"Deshawn is one of our senior leaders and brings a lot of experience to our team," Sparks said. "So far, this year Deshawn has proven to be very explosive when he gets his hands on the football. Last week he demonstrated this by having two TD’s of over 50 yards."

Sparks said Gilbert's football career could be extended to playing at the collegiate level.

"Deshawn has aspirations of playing football at the college level and continues to work hard each day in order to realize this goal," Sparks said.

Athlete's View: "I've participated in football, basketball and track but my favorite sport is football," Gilbert said.

Future Plans: "My goals are to play college football and major in graphic design and drama," Gilbert said. Currently, Gilbert has interest from Central Michigan University, Wayne State University, University of Dayton (Ohio) and Morehead State University (Kentucky).