photo by: AP Photo/Mike Stewart

Georgia Tech defensive back Syeed Gibbs (16) strips the ball from Georgia wide receiver Dominic Lovett (6) causing a fumble during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ga.

The Kansas football team has added some much-needed experience to its secondary.

Syeed Gibbs, a defensive back from Everett, Massachusetts, who played two years at Rhode Island and one at Georgia Tech, announced his commitment to KU on Thursday night. He will be a redshirt junior with two years left to play.

Gibbs saw time in 10 games and started six during his lone season with the Yellow Jackets. He tallied 22 tackles with four for loss and added a pair of forced fumbles, including one in Tech’s eight-overtime thriller against rival Georgia. In all, Gibbs played 342 defensive snaps, mostly as a slot corner, and 44 on special teams, according to Pro Football Focus.

He had arrived at the power-conference level after his redshirt freshman season at Rhode Island, during which he started all 10 games in which he played for the Rams and racked up 52 tackles, three interceptions and six passes defensed. He received several FCS-specific freshman All-American honors after the year was over.

Gibbs is KU’s second addition in the spring portal window after defensive end Leroy Harris III of Chattanooga, also a former FCS player. Gibbs fills an immediate need for more proven experience at the cornerback position, which thinned out considerably in the offseason as Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson exhausted their eligibility.

Gibbs should have the chance to compete for significant playing time at cornerback right away with players like Utah State transfer D.J. Graham II, sophomore Jalen Todd, redshirt freshman Austin Alexander and Alabama transfer Jahlil Hurley.