Georgetown football (4-3, 1-1 Patriot League) is heading down the home stretch of the season determined to prove their skeptics wrong. It’s clear that the team has undergone a huge transformation, but from the outside looking in, it’s hard to pinpoint what is so different this year. In an interview with the Voice, junior wide receiver Jimmy Kibble said that, although it may not be obvious to fans, the team’s mentality has totally changed.
“From my freshman year to junior year, we’ve had a big culture shift. I don’t know if that can be seen or is easily visible from the outside. But being internally at least it’s been just a complete shift of a drive, a new desire to want to win, and be more of a community and team. And this season I’ve seen it tenfold and we’ve had so many different guys buy in,” Kibble said.
The team’s new mindset paid off for the Hoyas in two recent games against familiar opposition. Georgetown upset Columbia (4-1, 2-0 Ivy League) and Lafayette (4-3, 1-1 Patriot League) on back-to-back Saturdays. Both opponents outclassed the Hoyas last year, with a particularly embarrassing 30-0 loss coming from Columbia. Kibble added that the team felt especially motivated to win based on the memory of those losses.
“Honestly, you can see it, you can feel it in the atmosphere leading up to the game all throughout the week of preparation,” he said. “You have guys having that chip on their shoulder from the year prior because you only get 11 games in a season, you get 365 days before you get to play that team again. It’s an all-or-nothing deal that one day. So I think a lot of guys bought into that idea and just having that chip on their shoulder and wanting it more.”
Kibble gave credit to his teammates and coaches for the recent victories, yet few individuals have had a bigger impact on Georgetown’s success than the star wide receiver. He leads the team with 587 receiving yards, 164 of which came in the comeback victory over Columbia. In that game, Kibble was Georgetown’s go-to target in important situations. That’s a role that he says he embraces, wanting to be there for the Hoyas in important moments.
“I want to be that safety net for our team. Not to say I don’t want the ball in non-crucial downs, but I want to be that fallback,” Kibble said. “3rd and 10, we need a catch, we need these yards. ‘Let’s throw it to Jimmy.’”
Having a target who can consistently make plays when Georgetown needs it most benefits the whole offense. The team’s offensive coordinator, Rob Spence, and head coach, Rob Sgarlata, have designed a system that allows players like Kibble to showcase their talents. Their system provides freedom for players by not overcomplicating the offense and instead focusing on getting the fundamentals right.
“I think what we really want to do, at least from my side, offense, we want to keep it simple,” Kibble said. “We really just want to make the layups, as some of our coaches say, make the simple play simple, keep easy easy, and just continue rolling the ball, not trying to get too complex and get too complicated in our offensive schemes.”
Kibble also spoke about his desire to evolve his game and become a more versatile player. Despite starting out as a deep threat who attacked defenses over the top, the junior wants to become a player who can attack a defense on short, intermediate, and long routes. That added versatility paid off for Georgetown in their most recent matchup against the Colgate Raiders. Kibble ran an intermediate route that created yards of separation from his defender, resulting in his first touchdown reception. His second score came from a long pass over the top of the defense.
Georgetown’s offense will need to maintain this momentum over the rest of the season, as all remaining four games are against conference opponents. The Hoyas could be in contention for their first-ever Patriot League championship if they win out, but it’ll take an unprecedented run to end the season in first place, especially with conference leaders Holy Cross (3-5, 2-0 Patriot League) still on the schedule for Nov. 23 in a potential Patriot League decider game. Kibble expressed that the team has a strong desire to win their conference matchups.
“The back half of our season is all Patriot League games, so getting into league play, all of those games are circled. We want to beat every single team. We want to show not only our own fan base, but also the league, everyone in the league, who we are and what, like, who we can be. Set ourselves up for playoffs, set ourselves up for the coming years, and just bring pride to the school and the team,” he said.
Kibble’s unshakable desire to consistently improve and beat every opponent on Georgetown’s schedule is one reason for his standout season. However, he’s not alone in believing that the Hoyas can continue to defy expectations this year. The whole team has bought into this renewed desire and competitive spirit—and that’s made a huge difference for the Hoyas in their strong 2024 season thus far.
“We have a lot of guys who are just completely driven and that’s really all it is because you get to this level and, especially our team, every single person is talented. Everyone has their own contributions to the team. It’s really just that mentality,” Kibble said. “We needed that extra step and I feel like we’re getting over that hump and we really have dove into the act of being a community and just wanting to give all of ourselves to each other to get to the common goal of winning the Patriot League.”
Georgetown football continues Patriot League play on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Cooper Field against Bucknell at 2 p.m. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
