Survivor: Edge of Extinction cast assessment: Gavin Whitson is a hidden talent

23-year-old Tennessee native Gavin Whitson plans to use a combination of strategy and social charm to make it to Day 39 and win the title of Sole Survivor.

Survivor superfan Gavin Whitson has been applying to the show since he turned 18. Five years later, he finally made it. Gavin is going to be especially motivated to play well this season because he was able to convince his wife to move their wedding day up in order to allow him to fulfill his dream of playing Survivor. I’m pretty sure that alone gives his wife “Wife of the Year” status.

Given the sacrifice his wife made, Gavin strongly desires to get his wife out to Fiji for the family visit so they can have a mini-honeymoon on the island.

Every season we see new players compare themselves to former castaways. In his interview with ET Canada, Gavin says that while he falls in line with while he is going to fall into those country boy fantasies that everyone has, he has super fan Stephen Fishbach brain to go along with it, and he wants to keep that under wraps from his fellow tribemates.

Being a super fan can have its downsides because it can cause you to play too hard, too fast and get voted out early. Jacob Derwin in Survivor: Ghost Island is a prime example of a super fan simply being too eager to play. Stephen on the other hand, was a pro at knowing what moves to make and when to make them.

If Gavin can reign in his excitement of finally getting to play Survivor, it is not hard to see him making a deep run in this game and possibly winning the title of Sole Survivor. According to his bio, he is a natural outdoors-man saying, “I’m from the south, so being in the outdoors is in my blood.” He is also listed as a YMCA Program director and has run a summer camp with 100 crazy kids.

Luckily for Gavin, there will only be 19 other people he is competing against in Survivor. He also brings a work hard, play hard mentality you need to win. His parents taught him that anything you want, you have to work hard for and that certainly rings true in Survivor.

Between the qualities he claims to have in his bio and ET Canada interview, a reasonable player comparison for Gavin would be Survivor: David vs. Goliath winner Nick Wilson. In David vs. Goliath, Nick brought the southern charm with a super fan brain. Nick also had the same work hard, play hard mentality that Gavin has.

If Gavin can put it all together and has the luck to go along with it, it is not hard to see him making a deep run in the game, if not winning.