Gibson could surprise some people at 125. He had a solid redshirt year at 133 losing close matches to Leete and Berginc at 133. He was a high recruit that fell due to injuries in high school.
Good analogy and correct. Typically D2/3 guys are gonna struggle against D1. Endene did make the U23 team last year (albeit there were not any top D1 guys in the field) so he is not your typical D2 champ.