The former WKU player and assistant coach died in February at 87. Coach Mike Sanford said shortly after Gilbert’s death he wanted his team to honor the longtime Hilltopper with a helmet decal for the 2017 season.
Sanford revisited that topic Thursday after practice. He said WKU players will wear helmet decals this season featuring butterscotch candy discs – the sugary treats Gilbert jokingly called “nerve pills.”
Long after Gilbert retired as an assistant coach following the 1990 season, he’d stop by to watch practice and hand out his “nerve pills” to coaches and players he knew by name.