After nearly two decades coaching college football, University of Northern Colorado coach Justin Walterschied said he’s learned to expect the unexpected.
A cliche, but very, very true for the Bears one week into the season. If anyone had reason to throw his hat, look to the sky and ask ‘why me’ last Saturday, it would’ve been Walterscheid and the UNC offense.
“I’m learning not to feel that way,” said Walterscheid, UNC’s second-year offensive coordinator.
Late in the Bears’ season opener, a 17-3 win over Division II Chadron State, starting quarterback Peter Costelli went out with a broken left collarbone. It’s Costelli’s non-throwing shoulder. Costelli is a right-handed quarterback. He will be out for an extended period of time — but not necessarily out for the season.
University of Northern Colorado quarterback Peter Costelli takes off to run during a Bears scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 at Nottingham Field in Greeley. The scrimmage was the final one of the preseason for UNC. The Bears open their 12-game regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 hosting Division II Chadron State at Nottingham Field. Costelli is the team's projected starting quarterback after missing most of last year with a knee injury. (Anne Delaney/Staff Reporter).Bears head coach Ed Lamb discussed the injury on his podcast this week with sports talkshow host Brady Hull. Lamb said Costelli’s return will be a decision later for the quarterback, the UNC medical staff and the program.
In the meantime, though, UNC is without its designated QB1 for a majority of the season — for the second time in two years. Costelli, a redshirt junior, suffered a knee injury at Colorado State last year and missed most of the rest of the season.
So, now, the Bears go back to CSU on Saturday with a backup quarterback.
His name is Eric Gibson Jr., and he’s a 22-year-old studying psychology and graduating with a bachelor’s degree at the end of this semester.
“A few of my classes have been like behavioral neuroscience,” Gibson Jr. said. “People think it’s easy. It’s not that easy.”
Kickoff for CSU is at 5 p.m. at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins. The game is available on: Altitude TV, on Pirate Radio at 93.5 and pirateradio935.com. Live stats from CSU are available at CSURams.com/sports/football/schedule.
Gibson Jr. arrived at UNC as a walk-on player earlier this year after starting his college career at LSU and then going undefeated last year at quarterback for Monterey Peninsula College, a junior college in Monterey, California.
He’s since earned a scholarship at UNC.
Junior wide receiver Brayden Munroe, who caught Costelli’s touchdown pass in the win over Chadron State last week, said Gibson has shown himself to be a good quarterback. The team trusts Gibson, Munroe said, and it learned from last year in adjusting after Costelli was hurt.
Though it can be a challenge to go to another QB, the team now has to go with Gibson.
“You could have a difficult time adjusting or you can just move forward every day and just deal with what you got,” Munroe said. “Now we’re ready to do it again, but better this year.”
Gibson Jr. went to LSU as a walk-on from Norfolk, Virginia. At Maury High School, Gibson was a quarterback and led the team to a 15-0 season in 2019 and the first state championship in 80 years.
He went to LSU in 2021 when Ed Orgeron was the head coach. Gibson Jr. was recruited by Steve Ensminger, who was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterback coach in 2019 when quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and led LSU to the national championship in January 2020.
Burrow was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Gibson Jr. was switched to wide receiver at LSU, but with NFL-caliber receivers Malik Neighbors and Brian Thomas Jr. on the roster, Gibson saw it was time to leave.
He ended up at Monterey Peninsula where he returned to quarterback, and threw for 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last year. The Lobos finished the season 11-0, including a December win over DeAnza in a California community college championship game.
University of Northern Colorado quarterback Eric Gibson Jr. runs with the ball during the Bears' 17-3 season-opening win over Chadron State on Aug. 30 at Nottingham Field in Greeley. Gibson Jr. will make his first career start for UNC at Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (Courtesy/UNC Athletics, Jesus Ayala)Gibson Jr. had a tough day against DeAnza, finishing 4 of 15 passing for 38 yards and two interceptions.
Lobos’ running back Kieryus Boone ran for 157 yards with an average of 5.1 yards per carry and a touchdown in the 13-12 win.
He was recruited by UNC and told UNC coaches about Gibson Jr. Boone is a 6-foot junior from Saginaw, Michigan, also in his first year at UNC.
“I feel great,” Gibson said. “I feel prepared. I’m super confident in my coaches, confident in my players. It’s a big test this weekend. They’re a good football team. We just have to know our job, do our job.”
Walterschied and Lamb both said the team is better prepared in multiple ways to manage Costelli’s absence from a year ago. The coaches feel the offensive line is better and more experienced this season, allowing them to adapt to a new QB. The rest of the offensive position players, the backs and receivers, are also improved.
Lamb said the Bears’ offensive approach and play calling last week was conservative, especially for the offensive line, leaving room for growth for the whole unit.
Last year, one of the quarterbacks who received a turn under center was Kia’i Keone. He’s now the answer to a UNC football trivia question. Who was the first quarterback to win a game under Lamb?
Keone, now a graduate student, led UNC as the Bears beat Weber State 21-17 on the road in Ogden, Utah last October.
Lamb said if Keone was the starter, he would be more effective because of the other players around him.
“He’s still an important part of what we do, and I think you’ll see him at quarterback often this year,” the coach added.
For this week, at least now, Gibson Jr. is the guy. Lamb described him as similar to Costelli, but not the same. Costelli is an athlete who can run and throw.
Gibson Jr. says he’s also a quarterback who can do both, but it’s most important for him to pay attention to the play calls and game plan and execute those.
“He’ve very comfortable with everything we’re doing offensively,” Walterscheid said. “He sees the field very well. We need guys that are ready to step in and play for us and I think we’re in that spot.”
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