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Linda Gilmour didn’t find out until years later, and she’s still not quite sure how her oldest child, Stephon, pulled it off.
She knew her son loved football and even more so his younger brother Stephen Gilmore Jr. But how much? She couldn’t even imagine her. The two boys didn’t get a chance to compete on the football field together because Stefon is nine years older than Steven Jr., nicknamed Stevie, but his parents and his four sisters were sound asleep. He never stopped trying.
“They’ve been in the same room since Stevie was born,” Linda said. “They had bunk beds for a long time, until Stefon went to college. But apparently before he left, he woke Stevie in the middle of the night to go throw a ball at school.” am.”
Stefon finally spilled the beans as an adult, and Linda can’t help but laugh as she imagines two boys bonding at South Point to sneak out at night and bond. She’s sure she and her husband, Stephen Gilmore Sr., wouldn’t have given them permission, but in hindsight, Stefon’s late-night trip made her want to spend more time with her brother. It doesn’t surprise her that it was.
Stefon said he didn’t ask for much when he was a kid when Christmas came around, and his parents admitted it. I’m Stevie.
The Gilmore family before Stephen Jr. established himself as a high school star. (Courtesy of Linda Gilmour)
“I told my mom I wanted a brother, and he gave me one,” Stephon recently said with a wide smile. “It’s been nine years, and it’s been the best thing ever. I love my sisters, but it’s been great to have another boy in the family. He follows me everywhere.” I remember going to see me play at a college game, wearing my jersey, he was too small to fit, and he was around the field.
“It’s crazy where he is now and having the chance to go to the league.”
Stevie recently completed five seasons playing as a defensive back at Marshall University, while Stephon finished his first year with the Colts and finished 11th overall in the NFL. If Stevie, a late-round pick, can make the NFL roster for the 2023 season, it will be the first time in his life that they will play at the same level.
Stephen Sr. knows how much that opportunity means to Stefon. His eldest son is a potential Hall of Famer so far, but a game featuring two Gilmours would be Steffon’s crowning achievement.
That motivated the 32-year-old cornerback to face Father Time, keeping him off for a moment that would last a lifetime.
“He’s always saying, ‘Dad, I’m waiting for my brother. I’m waiting for Stevie,'” Stephen Sr. said. “I’m waiting for my brother to come here before I think about retiring.”
“‘I have to play with my brother'”
Stevie sat in the front row.
He played South Point during his senior season in 2008, three years after Stephon was a two-way star at quarterback and cornerback and the school program was too small to play the varsity schedule. I remember leading to my first football state title.
He remembers his brother becoming one of the top prospects in the state and the recruitment letter from the Power 5 program.
He remembers going to Steffon’s game in South Carolina and the day the No. 19 Gamecocks upset No. 1 Alabama in 2010. His brother sold out as he recorded nine tackles in front of a crowd of nearly 78,000 fans.
“It was probably the loudest game I’ve ever been in,” said Stevie. …I always stuck with what he was doing and that’s what made me want to go out there and do the same thing as a player and as a person .”
Stevie has been motivated by Stefon all his life, but he’s careful how he expresses his admiration.Of course he always wanted to be like his brother, but he really didn’t want to be be his brother
It is an impossible burden that others have tried to impose on him, but he has never felt pressure from Stefon. That approach has worked pretty well so far.
“From that perspective, it was the state championship that Stevie played in middle school,” said Stephen Sr. “He scored his three touchdowns in his game of the state championship, and I think everyone realized then, ‘Hey, that’s Stevie!’ It’s not just “brother”.
Stevie played wide receiver and cornerback, winning four consecutive South Point titles and garnering the attention of premier programs nationwide. He received scholarship offers from states such as South Carolina, Georgia, Louisville, and planned to become a gamecock like Stefon.
That is, until he tried to accept a scholarship, but it was no longer available.
“I wasn’t taking it as seriously as I thought I was, because when I was focused on taking it seriously, it was too late by the time I was in fourth grade. and said there was no room for me to participate,” Stevie said. “Basically, all the big schools said so, and then I was stuck.”
Stevie eventually got word that he was available to smaller Division I programs, and Marshall became interested, sending former head coach Doc Holliday and several of his staff to Southpoint to recruit him. Then Stevie was sold.
Linda believes it was lucky for Stevie to go to an out-of-state college where he was the only child. Because it gave him a chance to escape the local fame of Gilmore’s name and “find his identity.” Stephen Sr. said it taught his youngest son how to face and overcome adversity.
“I think what he went to Marshall made him a better player and a better person,” Stephen Sr. said. “It made him stronger and made him realize that life is not easy. Your path is not always easy, but that’s why you have to take advantage of your situation and your current situation.”
To Stevie’s credit, he did just that, recording nine interceptions in five years with the flock. Nothing was bigger than his pick 6 in an upset win at Notre Dame in September 8th.
“It was definitely one of the best moments of my college career,” Stevie said. Beating a team like that? That was all.”
Stephen Gilmore runs an interception back for a touchdown in the 4th quarter against Notre Dame in September. (Matt Cashore/USA Today)
Stefon watched the play unfold on TV and joked during the season that he too had to get a pick 6 so his brother couldn’t one-up him.Ethics and possible sex.
“He remained hungry,” said Stephon. “He was a great senior. He’s tough, he has great ball skills and he’s proven he can do this. He can play in the NFL.”
The look on Stefon’s face is one that Linda and Stephen Sr. will never forget.September 17, 1999, the day Stevie was born.
“He was shocked when we got home, the first time I could hold him,” Linda said with a laugh. I have a picture of it, and you can tell it’s from the heart.”
Gone are the days when nine-year-old Stefon held newborn Stevie in his arms, and Stevie was running around the backyard in Stefon’s oversized helmet. But decades later, Linda said, the look on Stefon’s face when Stevie was first brought home was still the same on his face. Proud, responsible, and always feeling the need to set standards, it pushes him to heights once thought impossible.
With his brother watching, he became South Carolina’s Mr. Football in 2008 and was the 10th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He reached Super Bowls back-to-back with the Patriots, winning his second during his season in 2018. He won his 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
All through a season for the Colts that had only four wins, Steffon had three wins in the last second pass breakup.
“I want to be the best ever,” Steffon said, asking what drove him through the losing season. “That’s what I’m after.”
Deeper
‘The cornerback you fear’: Colts’ Stephon Gilmore believes he can still be best in game
But on a deeper level, it’s not just about getting a bust in Canton or winning another Super Bowl.
It’s about family.
It’s about his baby brother.
All Steffon has to do is look down at his left arm as a reminder. There is a tree tattoo covering his shoulder and biceps, the first tattoo he got as a teenager, and above each branch is his tree, including Linda, Stephen Sr., Stefon, and Sabrina. I have a close relative’s name. , Sierra, Stevie, Scarlett and Savannah.
Stephon Gilmore hopes to one day share the NFL field with his brother Stephen. (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
These people, along with his wife Gabriel and three children (daughters Gisele and Gail, and son Sebastian), have supported his life and career. But only one of them shares the field with him and has the chance to bet it all in the NFL.
“He’s grown up now,” Stefon said of Stevie. “So it would be a blessing.”
It’s a dream come true for Stevie, too, but he knows nothing is guaranteed. I hope that the replacement will be carried out soon.
“It’s definitely something on my bucket list,” Stevie said. It looks so amazing. Having a brother who embodies greatness so beautifully and having it in front of us all these years gives us even more motivation to get there.”
(Top photo of Stephon Gilmore holding her brother Stephen as a child, courtesy of Linda Gilmore)
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