BEREA, Ohio -- His teammates call him "Gip'' and defensive Ray Horton calls him his MVP.

Not just of the secondary, but of the entire defense. It's undrafted second-year safety Tashaun Gipson, who was one of the biggest concerns on defense heading into the season.

"I think my biggest surprise and probably the MVP for me is Tashaun Gipson,'' Horton declared Wednesday. "He's done a remarkable job for us."

Wait a minute, not cornerback Joe Haden, who shut down Cincinnati's A.J. Green in the first meeting and has silenced top wideouts all season? Not Buster Skrine, who's come out of nowhere to lead the team with 17 pass breakups? Not Phil Taylor, who's having the best season of his three-year career, or four-year veteran T.J Ward, who's doing likewise?

Nope, it's Gip, the undrafted second-year pro out of Wyoming who showed enough promise in three starts last year to earn the free safety job this season.

"(It's) because he was a former corner that played limited snaps last year going to a position that requires a ton of smarts and you can never be wrong at the position, and he’s a much better tackler than I ever envisioned,'' said Horton. "He's got fantastic hands, and he's tough and he makes very few mistakes. He’s protected some guys that may have been out of position.

"I use the word ‘unremarkable,’ meaning on a piece of paper when you’re watching practice and grading you don’t remark anything about him because he’s always in the right place doing the right thing. … He has very few mental mistakes and he’s just been a fantastic player. It’s really for me a comfort because I know he’s going to be in the right place at the right time and do his job well.”

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Gipson is tied for the team lead with two interceptions and third with 11 passes defensed. He's injured two players this season -- Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley and Bills quarterback EJ Manuel -- but was flagged for only the Finley hit. And that was a questionable call.

“Coach Horton and the other coaches allowed me to go out there and they trusted me and I had to earn my trust throughout the year,” Gipson said. “Same goes for Buster, and I think we've been able to fill those voids and kind of answer any questions people may have lingering about the other two spots in the secondary. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but I definitely think we've progressed.”

MVP? Score one for the Gip.