One of the first people Mike Gibson turned to after breaking training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles last week was his wife, Jessi.

They sat down and had a conversation that began with Jessi asking Mike, “Did you do everything you truly could to make this team?”

Mike, a guard who played football at Napa High School, Solano Community College and UC Berkeley, replied, “Yes, I’ve done everything I possibly can. I’ve worked the hardest I can. I have no regrets of anything that I’ve done so far.”

Gibson, a sixth-round pick of the Eagles in the 2008 NFL Draft, survived one of the league’s most grueling camps at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. — daily two-a-day practices that began at 7:45 a.m. The Eagles like the fact that Gibson, a two-time All-Pac-10 selection at tackle and the winner of the Ken Cotton Award as Cal’s most courageous player, is versatile and experienced enough to play just about anywhere on the offensive line.

They have used him at both guard positions and he was even snapping the ball to quarterback Donovan McNabb in 7-on-7 situations in camp during July and August. He is listed third on the team’s depth chart at left guard.

“Coach (Andy) Reid’s camps are one of the toughest camps in the NFL,” Gibson said in a tel˚ephone interview. “It was great to experience that, because now when we’re in a game, the game’s 10 times easier than our practices are, because our practices are tough.”

Gibson — a Second-Team All-State player, the Monticello Empire League’s Lineman of the Year and All-Metro for Napa — has gotten playing time in each of the first two preseason games.

Against Pittsburgh, he played only in the fourth quarter at left guard. Near the end of the third quarter, offensive line coach Juan Castillo approached Gibson and asked, “Are you ready to go in?”

“I said, ‘Let’s go,’ ” Gibson said.

It was a dream come true to line up in an NFL game, Gibson said.

“Just to think that I’m in that position is an awesome feeling. It was more of a relief for my first NFL game, because for a first game you have the nerves and you have all the adrenaline going through your body. I was kind of in awe — I’m really here and this is cool. The good thing was that I played fast, I played physical.”

The Eagles played Gibson — who earned All-Bay Valley Conference honors and was named First-Team All-American at Solano — at right guard the entire second half of a preseason game against Carolina. He entered the game with the second group.

“The positive in the first game was that I played fast and luckily we played against a ‘34’ defense, so I wasn’t covering and I didn’t have to block anybody directly. I had to read the linebacker and look inside out and then after that I got to hit somebody. The second game, I felt like I belonged. I had a lot of confidence going into the game, which was really good, as I ended up doing really well in the game.”

Following the game against Carolina, Reid wad asked about the play of the offensive line.

“I thought the protection was good, and really I was happy with the running game for the most part,” he said.

Gibson was the 184th player taken in the draft and the 18th player chosen in the sixth round. He led a group of five Cal standouts selected on day two of the draft.

He impressed coaches, general managers, player personnel directors and scouts at the NFL combine in February. In two seasons at Cal, Gibson produced 78 knockdowns, 21 downfield blocks and 14 touchdown-resulting blocks. He started the last 10 contests of his junior year at right tackle and helped that unit give up only 13 sacks on 413 pass plays. He recorded 24.5 knockdown blocks and played through a torn labrum, yet was named All-Pac-10 Second Team. He shifted to left tackle as a senior and the Bears averaged 407.5 yards per game. Gibson and his fellow blockers gave up only 11 sacks on 443 pass plays.

He was listed as the eighth-best offensive line prospect in the junior college ranks by Super Prep and the 55th-best player in the country regardless of position by that service. JC Gridwire listed him as the 14th-best two-year player in the country and the fifth-best prospect in California. He also ranked as the 14th-best junior college player in the country by Rivals.com.

Training camp was a test both mentally and physically, Gibson said. There are no days off.

“It was just a great opportunity to learn and learn behind some good players,” said Gibson. “When we were in camp, we were banging, going full speed. The majority of the time, we’re hitting people and getting after it. The first few days it was pretty tough with the humidity, but honestly you just get used to it after a couple days.

“The thing about football, as great as it is, it gets you mentally tough. And you’ve got to be mentally tough, because if you aren’t, it’s just going to break you down and eat you alive. You’ve got to go into every day with a new motivation, that you’re going to learn something new and that you’re going to get better every day.”

Gibson said his pass blocking skills have improved.

“I thought I was a good pass blocker at Cal until I came here, and then realized that I had a lot more to learn. Mentally, I think I’ve gotten a lot tougher in the aspect of the playbook — I think I’ve gotten a lot better at that.”

Philadelphia has two preseason games to go, Friday at New England and Aug. 28 against the New York Jets. The first roster cutdown, to a maximum of 75 players, is Aug. 26. Teams have to trim their rosters to a maximum of 53 players on Aug. 30.

“You’ve got to go in with the mind-set to dominate. You’ve got to dominate the person in front of you, because that’s what they’re trying to do,” said Gibson. “They’re trying to earn a spot on their team also. I want to play the best that I can. That’s why I’m here — to do the best that I can and represent my family and Napa well.

“Football is what I love to do. It’s a great thing to be a part of. Who else has a better job than to play professional football?”