Mike Gibson found out first hand the other day just how passionate fans are when it comes to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Gibson was taking a subway train to the downtown area with some of his new teammates when a few of the passengers asked if they were football players.

It wasn’t a bad question, as Gibson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds as a rookie offensive lineman for the Eagles, definitely stands out in a crowd.

“They just started singing the (Eagles’) fight song,” Gibson said.

“It was pretty cool. There are die-hard Eagles fans. They definitely love their sports out here, which is really cool. They were very encouraging, saying, ‘Go Eagles.’

“The people are awesome. I like everything about this place.”

Whether he’s on or off the field, Gibson is getting all kinds of support — from coaches, teammates, fans, family and friends — as he takes the next step in football, advancing from major-college football to the pro game.

The former UC Berkeley tackle and 2004 Napa High School graduate was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the annual NFL Draft in late April.

Gibson, a two-time All-Pac-10 selection and the winner of the Ken Cotton Award as the Bears’ most courageous player, was the 184th player taken in the draft and the 18th player chosen in the sixth round.

Since that memorable springtime day, he has participated in a mandatory mini-camp and rookie camp, and is now taking part in organized team activities.

He’s learning about the fine art of run and pass blocking as a guard from his new position coach, Juan Castillo.

The team’s playbook is right by his side, as he wants to make certain he has everything down by the time training camp starts on July 21 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

He’s also working hard to stay in tip-top shape, so that when the pads come on and the live blocking and tackling commences, he’s done everything he can to give himself the best possible chance to make a favorable impression on coaches and nail down a roster spot.

The camp runs for three weeks before breaking on Aug. 13, a day before the preseason home opener against Carolina on Aug. 14.

Philadelphia opens the preseason on Aug. 8 at Pittsburgh.

“I’m going to keep working hard and keep doing what I do, so that when I come into camp I’ll be fully prepared to go bust my butt and work hard,” Gibson said Wednesday. “I want to learn that playbook. They kind of leave it up to you and you have to do it all on your own.

“I have to know it for a fact that I can just go out there and play fast football, which is what you need to play at this level.”

Gibson was an All-American at Solano Community College-Fairfield and a Second-Team All-State player at Napa High. 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.

As a senior, Gibson earned All-Pac 10 Conference honorable mention. Shifting to left tackle, he produced 47 knockdowns and eight touchdown-resulting blocks. The team averaged 407.5 yards per game with five new starters in the offensive lineup.

Gibson and his fellow blockers gave up only 11 sacks on 443 pass plays.

He protected Nate Longshore’s blind side and was part of a superb offensive line as Cal ran for over 2,000 yards, including nine individual 100-yard efforts.

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting after some people and showing coach what I can do, because I know I can play at this level,” said Gibson. “It’s a lot of hard work and playing physical.”

At Napa High, he earned All-Monticello Empire League and All-Metro honors. He was also named as the league’s Lineman of the Year and played in the East-West Charity All-Star Football Classic.

After graduation, he enrolled at Solano. He earned All-Bay Valley Conference honors twice at offensive tackle and was named First-Team All-American in 2005. 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.

Gibson got right to work early in the day when the Eagles opened mini-camp.

There was weight-lifting at 7 a.m. and the coaching staff put the team through a series of what Gibson said were 14 “half-gassers,” running from sideline to sideline — a distance of 104 yards — with only a 45-second break.

“It was pretty tough but it ended up going really well for me,” he said. “I finished all of them under the time.

“They kind of just throw you into the fire and see how you react towards adversity. They put you in situations so you watch and learn from the older guys, and that helps you out a lot. They put you in meetings with the older guys and they basically just force you to learn a harder way than it would be to just to kind of slow things down. I ended up doing really well.”

Gibson also attended classroom sessions, which involved chalk talks and film instruction. Gibson, who has not signed a contract yet, is versatile enough that he can play a number of positions on the line.

He rotated in and out with the team’s 2s on the offensive line.

Asked what the biggest change he’s seen so far at the NFL level, Gibson said it’s the play of the defensive linemen.

“They are a lot more technically sound — that’s the biggest thing that I’ve had to adjust to.”

As part of the NFL’s new orientation program, Gibson will join the other Eagles rookies for a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on June 13.

The trips for each of the league’s teams are designed to teach incoming players about the history of the game and give them a greater appreciation of the NFL and the opportunities and responsibilities ahead.

Each team’s tour will be headed by its player development director and will include speakers representing former NFL players, Pro Football Hall of Fame personnel and others.

NFL Player Development and the Pro Football Hall of Fame are coordinating the visits to Canton, which will take place from May 28-June 23.

Rookies will learn about the NFL’s history and heritage, focusing on the achievements of NFL greats who paved the way for today’s players. This experience, the league said, will help prepare rookies for their own careers while stressing the importance of their role as NFL players.

The trips to Canton are part of several rookie orientation initiatives designed to ease new players’ transition to the NFL. Draftees also will attend the annual rookie symposium in San Diego from June 29-July 2.