The drama-filled Arik Gilbert roller coaster isn't coming to a halt anytime soon
Arik Gilbert’s first year of college essentially turned into a well-written primetime TV drama.
Think about it. The absurd high school highlights were like the overplayed TV show promo you memorized because it played twice an hour during a college football Saturday. The stories about him looking like “Pete Maravich on the football field” and the reports of his freakish camp exploits at LSU were like the critics reviewing the show with glowing marks ahead of the premiere date.
Then when the show finally hit the masses? It lived up to the hype.
It was only 8 episodes. I mean, um, 8 games. But Gilbert impressed.
The cumulative numbers might not have looked overwhelming (35 catches for 368 yards and 2 TDs). For those who actually watched the games and didn’t just scroll through their phones, however, Gilbert stood out. He had more games with 4-plus catches than the true freshman versions of Kyle Pitts, Hunter Henry and Evan Engram … combined. On a per game basis, Zach Miller in 2004 was the only 5-star tight end in the 21st century who put up better numbers as a true freshman than Gilbert.
The multi-dimensional storylines were like Gilbert’s multi-faceted game. The Season 1 love story was like Gilbert’s blocking. As in, it was a work in progress that showed flashes of long-term potential. The suspense scenes, though. My goodness. They were like Gilbert’s route-running. As in, it was a gripping, head-turning display of brilliance that kept you on the edge of your seat.
Arik Gilbert turned 19 years old today.
Consider this a reminder of what he did as an 18-year old against all SEC competition (via @SECFootballVids). pic.twitter.com/2fpU7l4w0P
— Connor O’Gara (@cjogara) February 22, 2021
Amidst all of those interwoven storylines was an unpredictable cliffhanger of a Season 1 finale. Gilbert opted out before LSU’s final 2 games and subsequently entered the transfer portal, citing homesickness. Consider that the TV show equivalent of asking yourself the Season 1 finale question, “Wait a minute. Is the main character really about to die? After 1 season?!?”
Gilbert’s drama-filled first season took another sharp left turn Sunday when he announced on Twitter that 4 weeks after committing to Florida, he wouldn’t be committing after all and that he wouldn’t announce his next destination until he was enrolled at his new school.
Aaaaaaand we’re officially off the rails.
The roller coaster isn’t coming to a halt anytime soon. Even if Gilbert’s next destination isn’t revealed until he’s on campus in May (presumably), are we to believe these next 3 months will be totally quiet? Of course not. Gilbert is in the transfer portal. As much as the kid who turned 19 years old last week would probably love to have a quiet, no-nonsense college career, that ship has sailed. You don’t announce you’re attending and then leaving 2 premier SEC programs and then just ride off into the sunset.
This is like a critically acclaimed TV show dominating CBS ratings for a full year, and then the studio announces that the show is leaving for NBC … only to announce a month later that it’s still looking for a new network.
(Yes, Georgia fans. In this scenario, you get to be FOX. You’re sitting in the corner just waiting to cash in. UCF fans? You can be Amazon Prime.)
Fair or not, Gilbert is now going to dominate the college football world like Ben Affleck dominates the supermarket tabloids. Obviously, their personal situations are wildly different, but on a surface level, the similarities are evident.
When you burst onto the scene like that, we as consumers become locked in to your every move. Affleck went from starring in movies like “Good Will Hunting” and “Armageddon” in his mid-20s to dating celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Lopez. Of course, his every move was going to be captured by the paparazzi. Gilbert went from becoming a target machine as a 5-star true freshman tight end to devastating 2 of the sport’s most rabid fan bases. Of course, his every Twitter follow is going to be dissected by college football fans.
Whatever is going on with Gilbert behind closed doors is his business. But so far, everything he’s done suggests that he’s worthy of our undivided attention.
Part of the reason this situation reached this level is, admittedly, at the fault of us as consumers. Gilbert’s announcement in January that he was committing to Florida was treated as a done deal. It made perfect sense that he’d want to play in Dan Mullen’s offense and get coached by Tim Brewster, who just helped Pitts become a college football unicorn. Gilbert entered the transfer portal, considered his options and picked the one he felt fit him best. Easy enough.
What a select few realized was that with Gilbert not set to enroll at Florida until the summer, it was still a fluid situation. He was more like a recruit who committed than an enrolled student. Hence, why Gilbert said he won’t announce his next destination until he’s on campus. Kudos to a decorated 19-year-old kid if he can break his own news if and when that time comes. Something tells me that’ll be highly coveted information capable of melting down message boards.
Sure, higher-rated recruits have transferred from SEC programs. Justin Fields, Shea Patterson, Jacob Eason, Byron Cowart and Bryce Brown, to name a few. We’ve also seen a few players like Tate Martell leave multiple traditional powerhouse programs.
But even with all we’ve seen in the wild world of recruiting and transferring in 21st-century college football, Gilbert’s situation feels unique.
Never do 5-star recruits shine as true freshmen, only to leave the program they signed with that same season … and then commit to and de-commit from a rival program shortly thereafter. All of those things played out over the course of the last 5 months. What’s in store for the next 5 months? Your guess is as good as mine.
Perhaps the better question is what’s in store for the next 5 years for Gilbert? Will he commit to his third SEC school become an All-American and eventually a first-round pick? That’s probably the least surprising path he could take, if we’re being honest. That scenario would still result in more than 1/5 of the SEC’s teams representing him at one point, which wouldn’t exactly lessen his ever-polarizing profile.
Any time Gilbert so much as picks up a first down in a primetime game, we’re going to hear the broadcast team tell some sort of variation of his unique story. The irony, of course, is that by the time he takes the field next, it’ll be common knowledge for even the casual college football fan.
Maybe this will yield something like that 2013 LSU-Georgia classic, wherein LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger got a massive, College GameDay-worthy showdown with the Georgia team he was booted from. Granted, it’s different when it’s a former blue-chip quarterback facing his ex-team compared to a tight end.
But nothing about Gilbert’s path so far suggests that he’ll be treated like another talented tight end. That’s in the media, on opposing scouting reports and perhaps even at the next level.
My advice? Grab some popcorn, sit back, relax and don’t miss a second of Season 2.
If i am being Honest he sounds like he is a big locker room problem.
He may be
Yea, he’s the kind of locker room trouble that EVERYBODY WANTS!!!! TheyoungFloridaGator you have DAN MULLEN in your locker room and your worried about Arik Gilbert????
It’s not his fault that Florida obviously has a problem as a university!
I’m on the phone. I’m talking to all my sources. I’m thinking of phoning him myself. If I do I’ll have the scoop! I’m just trying to give the young man some space. Arik don’t worry about all the clowns. What they say or write is not important!!!
PS. Just so you know. I’m working overtime to try and keep him in the SEC! There is a strong pull from a non SEC team!!!!
Negan
Lol. Negan you are unbelievable.
….what?
Negan is a total fruitcake. UGA fans, you got a winner of a troll there.
POS
Imagine putting all of the time and effort into all of these posts just to be the laughing stock of this page.
Odds are he’s going to need at least a semester to clean up his grades, which seem like the most likely issue.
He’s already taking online classes. Don’t assume anything!!! I’m watching a replay of 2012 SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. I so far saw a huge penalty against UGA for a LEGAL HIT FROM THE SHOULDER THAT THEY CALLED HELMET TO HELMET! He barely bumped him with his shoulder. Yet some #90 for Alabama hit Aaron Murray helmet to helmet hard and wiped him out. NO CALL!!!!!! How shocking? Oh but the ref couldn’t see it right? WRONG!!! IT HAPPENED INCHES FROM A REF LOOKING STRAIGHT AT IT!!!!!
Alabama would not have been the DYNASTY that they became with A. Kirby Smart and B. DIRTY PRO ALABAMA REFS!!!!!
I sure hope a GEORGIA KID has seen enough of the DIRTY CALLS and DIRTY PLAY! Arik don’t go to Alabama whatever you do!!!! STAY HOME AND BECOME A HOMETOWN HERO AND LEGEND LIKE HERSCHEL WALKER!!!!!
2012 is another game that clearly showed UGA WAS CHEATED AND THEY CHEATED THEMSELVES IN THE END. But that same team even being cheated. Proved they were A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL TEAM! In the end it was a yard and a half away from a national championship. And again Alabama got lucky!!! With a whole bunch of HELP!!! But Alabama blew Notre dame away and so would Georgia in the national championship game!!!!
Georgia beat Nick Saban and Alabama in 2007! And every game since then that I remember. UGA OWNED ALABAMA FOR MOST OF THE GAME, EVERY GAME! Alabama with the HELP OF REFS, always found a way to STEAL EVERY GAME!!!! The worst being the 2017 national championship game. THAT WAS SIMPLY STOLEN FROM GEORGIA!!!!
I’M NOT EVEN WILLING TO GIVE THAT GAME TO ALABAMA. TO BE UGA IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION THAT SEASON!!!! But it needs to be made official. Even Stetson Bennett lit Alabama up in the first half. And it could be argued that this particular game was changed after UGA STOPPED ALABAMA. And like always the REFS CALLED A PHANTOM PASS INTERFERENCE CALL THAT GAVE ALABAMA A FIRST N GOAL. TO GIVE THEM AN EASY TD!!!! Then Stetson Bennett felt he needed to do more than he was able. And our 5TH string QB eventually gave the ballgame away. Throw interceptions and turning the ball over! OVER AND OVER!!!!!
But before the BS PHANTOM INTERFERENCE CALL. UGA WAS MORE THAN HOLDING THEIR OWN!!! Even with Stetson Bennett at QB!!!!
Anyone with a brain and no Alabama bias. Should be able to see that UGA actually owned Alabama on the field. But like Rick Flair in wrestling. Somehow and someway most of the time with OUTSIDE HELP. Alabama Flair always found a way to the top of the scoreboard. Most of the time in sheer desperation!!!!!
EVEN WITH HELP. ALABAMA HAS SURVIVED UGA NOT THRIVED AND ALABAMA CERTAINLY DID NOT DOMINATE!!!
UGA IS ONE TEAM ALABAMA DOES NOT DOMINATE, WHEN THEY ARE HEALTHY!!!!!! And history has just been waiting for the right year for everything to change!!!! I CAN ALREADY HEAR THE ALABAMA FANS WHINING AND CRYING OVER BAD CALLS. AS UGA FINALLY TAKES OVER AND BECOMES THE DYNASTY THEY ARE BUILT FOR!!!!!
Alabama has always been a good matchup with UGA. But this season I think Alabama will realize. That UGA is a bad matchup for Alabama now!!! UGA can stop the RUN. Alabama hates to play teams that can stop the run. UGA can also rush the passer!
Alabama might have talented YOUNG wide receivers. But the fact is UGA HAS BETTER OLDER WIDE RECEIVERS!!!! There still young but they have experience!!! And Alabama hates for people to RUN ON THEM. Because it sets up the PlayStation pass. And UGA have 3 5 star QBs! And 5 elite running backs that can run on anyone!!!! And our offensive line is one of the best in the country! Alabama will have a great line but YOUNG!!!!
My prediction. YOUTH IS GOING TO SLAM THE DOOR ON ALABAMA’S DYNASTY! As a new team also built to become a DYNASTY. Takes its place IN HISTORY!!!!! I believe God willing and if the dawgs STAY HEALTHY. UGA WILL BE THE 2021 SEC CHAMPION AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!
UGA NEEDS TO STRIVE TO DOMINATE ALABAMA AND ESPECIALLY BE READY TO DOMINATE IN THE 4TH QUARTER!!!! NO MATTER WHAT THE SCORE. THIS TIME NO EARLY CELEBRATIONS AND NO BREATHERS!!!!!
60 MINUTES OF HELL!!!!! NO EARLY CELEBRATIONS!!!
Negan
Wow! Your toxic envy and jealousy of Bama is noted. Bwess your wittle heart … the mean ole SEC, the refs and God all conspired to keep UGA from becoming the dynasty Bama became in their place. Typically Bama envy and jealousy at this sophomoric level emanates from basement dwelling tigger fans on the plains and in red stick. Who knew the king of whine would actually reside in a puppy dog’s basement?
Well I don’t think that 2012 SECCG game kept UGA from becoming a dynasty but that hit on Murray was one of the dirtiest cheapest hits I’ve ever seen and got no call. Kid should have been ejected.
Don’t you dare try to link the occasionally over the top folks from LSU with the mentally deranged moron we know as Negan. That in itself will draw a flag for a personal foul.
You have to hand it to the GA folks though. Still upset over a specific noncall nearly 10 years ago
Dawglb – nothing dirtier than that hit Cline put on Pitts. I still question premeditation on that one. Was not cool.
NO LSU fans would put this much effort into a post just to look like an idiot.
How can he be “already taking online classes” when it’s the middle of a semester and he’s not enrolled anywhere? We don’t know how many credit hours he earned from the fall semester, but he’ll definitely have zero for the spring. If he doesn’t get enrolled into summer semester classes and earn a few credit hours there’s no way he’ll be eligible to play in the fall with the NCAA’s requirements for student athletes to make reasonable progress towards a degree.
And eligibility to play this fall, even if he makes up the missed classes this summer, is not a given. The NCAA’s freebie transfer year without penalty ends soon. No determination has been made for the 2021-2022 academic year.
I’m thinking he got no credit hours in the fall. Not really sure but I think he withdrew
Wow, that could be devastating. A full school year and no credits? I don’t know how you can make that up in one summer semester to be eligible to play by September, even if he dropped down to FCS.
I’m guessing he’s waiting to see if the NCAA is going to issue the blanket waiver again so he can play for another SEC team this season. If they don’t, he either goes back to LSU, plays in another conference, or sits a year.
Depending on what remediation is waiting for him if he were to return to Baton Rouge – stories vary – that might be his best option if another blanket eligibility waiver isn’t forthcoming. The clock is ticking, though. If he wants to play anywhere in the fall, he has to get some classes in this summer.
Dude y’all could probably get blown out by f’ing vandy next year cause a bunch of your new five stars dont have the experience.
POS
Is this real? Somebody needs some counseling
I find it quite interesting that Negan finds a way to bloviate on non-calls against the Crimson Tide and UGA’s (assumed) SEC and national supremacy in an article about a WR who’s never suited up for the Bulldogs or the Tide. smh
There is more to this than football. Marijuana rumors aside, the bigger issue has to be academics and where he stands with that. He left LSU well before the semester ended. Did he get any credits for that semester. He is now missing another full semester. Can he get enough credits in the summer to get academically qualified to play this upcoming season? It doesn’t seem like he is getting very good advice. He may end up having to go to Jackson State and playing glorified HS ball for another two years. I hope he gets his act together, but he’s going to have to start listening to some better people. He doesn’t seem like a bad kid, but he’s not on a good path as of now.
That’s actually a great point. Millions of kids have benefited immensely by pursuing a JUCO option (I know J. State is not a JUCO). Some time to mature just may be what is needed.
Yeah youre very right on that. I say this all the time but as fans we sometimes forget that alot of these players are kids. Many of them may have physically matured way disproportionately to their mental maturity. He’s an 18 year old kid that moved 8 hours away from home for the first time during a covid lockdown. I can very easily see how any of those rumors are true.
JUCO’s are great avenues for kids who just arent mentally mature enough to go to a university where their freshman biology class doesnt take attendance and has 800 students in it.
Marijuana rumors aside (not), I don’t think being stoned is a good state of mind to be in when you’re studying.
They are only rumors.
Good post, most likely scenario is that he’s not going to play in the SEC or any Power 5 program in 2021. Deion Sanders is watching !
I’m beginning to think Mr. Gilbert would not be a good fit for the Dawgs.
Kirby likes kids who want to be at UGA and are willing to learn and put the team first.
If Arik’s issues are academic, and he’s unwilling or incapable of addressing those problems, then I say NO THANKS.
People close to what happened at LSU are keeping quite. A radio host in BR who apparently knows the inside scoop wouldn’t say anything other than if it was his son he would have taken him out of LSU. It appears there is more to the story than being homesick.
It makes for a very compelling point as to why he chose to go to LSU in the first place haha.
From all the info out there…grades & ganja seem to be the big 2 problems…possibly a disproportionate size of his head also.
The kid said Florida was the best fit for him, and he was going to be coached by one of the better tight end coaches in the country in Tim Brewster, who also builds great relationships with recruits and players. Gilbert deciding to not come to Florida was outside the boundaries of control by both Gilbert and the Florida coaches unless the SEC office told Gilbert he would have to sit out a year if he transferred to another SEC school. In that case, Gilbert did have a decision to make. Otherwise, the decision was made by others outside of his desire and control. In any case, I hope the young man gets his college and personal priorities in proper order and becomes a great football player and welcomed teammate…wherever that is. And Go Gators!
He was going to have to sit a year at Florida (or any SEC school) unless he got a waiver which isn’t guaranteed.
The rumor is that Gilbert could not get admission to Florida for academic reasons.
If this is true, he sure is heck is not getting accepted to Georgia, a superior academic institution to every school in the SEC except Vanderbilt.
I assume he’ll wind up at Alabama.
LOL. Now that is funny.
Every ranking I have seen for academics has UF rated higher than UGA. Some have UGA right behind UF while others have them a bit further back. None have UGA rated higher.
Lsusmc that’s because UGA is not! Dawg fans are so delusional on all fronts with their school, it’s beyond comical at this point!
Just remember 2021 is the year for UGA. Forget about 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015….I know they thought those were going to be the years, too…but NEXT YEAR, That’s the year!!!
98, you might want to look at the SAT score ranges for incoming freshmen at Florida and Georgia.
I am not going to argue the point either way, because it’s silly, but, SAT scores for students vs Athletes is not a relevant point. A quick google brought up a report done by US News and Reports that showed the difference. For the record, UF had the biggest gap.
I saw that too. UF is a highly rated academic school, but their athletes are in the same boat as the rest of the conference schools.
UF also had the highest academic rated year for its athletes this past year in SEC HISTORY. Even beating out Vanderbilt’s future doctors. So don’t be getting down on UF if entrance scores between average students and the athletes is a thing.
“average SAT score” is most influenced by the number of applicants for a given institution. Obviously there are exceptions for preferential groups, athletes etc. but the more applicants a school has the higher the admissions standards will be.
For the most recent application cycle:
UGA had 20,500 applicants
UF had 48,066 applicants
I would also venture to say that UF gets more out-of-state applicants than UGA which would also have the effect of driving up the average SAT scores.
Another point that has historically hurt UGA’s average SAT score is the lack of an Engineering School. UGA established an Engineering School in 2012 and today there are about 1300 Engineering students at UGA. Prior to that prospective engineering students would have applied to GT or an out-of-state school; AU and Clemson have been popular schools for Georgians wanting to major in Engineering.
Love the Greek house signs that welcome the Auburn students “back home to where you couldn’t get in”.
How about you ‘dawgs’ throw your hind legs up and scoot around the buttsmehre complex at leghumper U. and shut up.
Still laughing at that one. In 2019, Alabama’s football team was 14th in the nation with a 984 APR. This was second in the SEC to only Vanderbilt. Georgia was 84th. Florida was 47th. Look it up. Not sure if 2020 results are in yet…
2020 results are in!!
Georgia 61st
Florida 43rd
Vanderbilt 20th
Alabama 6th.
Not making this up. Florida and Georgia, you can still take solace in looking down at Florida State at 125…
Dubious measure at best. A good article in Forbe describes why.
…yet a total stranger posting in the comment section on a website can unilaterally declare Georgia to be academically superior to every SEC school except for Vanderbilt based on nothing? This is credible?
The NCAA uses this measure to determine player/team eligibility. Sounds like it is better than dubious.
I didn’t claim anything. You or anyone who is interested can read the details around APR and make their own determination.
So how does APR, a score that includes a penalty for an academically eligible student athlete leaving a school, represent the academic prowess of a given institution?
Bravo on cherry picking a meaningless stat though.
All Bama’s APR means is that they have figured out a coursework track that is basically remedial education.
Bama (and Clemson) ranked higher in APR than the service academies, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Cornell and Harvard, among others. So spare us any silliness about their academic performance.
U.S. News & World Report (2019) • Alabama ranked No. 50 – dead last – in the publication’s latest education rankings.
All that needs to said about eduation in Alabama.
You get 4 years at Bama to learn to spell the word ‘BAMA’ correctly. Do that and you gradumacate. That’s for the NORMAL students. You don’t want to know how watered down the curriculum is for their athletes, and know being able to recognize the letter A is not the requirement, even if it’s italicized and colored red. That would be too demanding on their student atheletes.
Rather than APR scores (which reflects, among other things, how well programs have tailored academics to not be an impediment for student athletes), look at the rankings of public institutions. Bama ranks near the bottom of SEC schools.
you might be correct about the APR boxster, but not correct about alabama ranking towards the bottom
Hey Gromit,
You can add up the IQ’s of your Florida team this past season (multiply them by about 2 as well probably) and they still would not get reach the IQ of Alex Leatherwood or Najee Harris.
Again…I can assure you that he is not coming to Tuscaloosa.
Agreed. Saban is in the enviable position of not having to stretch for a guy like this. He has all of the talent he needs and they want to play there. You have guys waiting their turn in Tuscaloosa. Don’t get me wrong, I want you guys to get taken down, but I have nothing but respect for what he’s done…and he’s done it without distractions like this kid.
Well said
Leave it to a Georgia fan to come up with delusional and outright false sheet. There is no academic metric where Georgia is ahead of Florida. NONE
I dont give 2 spits about incoming freshman scores. This isn’t an academic competition or Vandy would be the perennial SEC champ. Stanford would have been natl champ for 50 years. Tell me incoming freshman 40 times or height and weight.
I looked it up just for fun. 2021 rankings have Fla #6 public u in USA. Ga is 15. Tech is 8.
I’ll say this, other than Auburn , the Dawgs have some pretty smart rivals.
In other words Georgia is not even the top academic institution in it’s own state let alone the SEC
Well how do you think Tennessee fans feel when not a one of them can even spell the word Tennessee and they have to share the state with Vanderbilt?
Actually, Emory University outranks any school in Florida. Best keep the conversation to public universities in the SEC to strut that stuff for your state. Once you broaden the list to all schools, Georgia has three institutions in the top 50 national universities. Florida squeaks in with barely two if Miami’s four-way tie at 49 is counted.
In other words, you’re not even the smartest guy in your trailer park
You left out the rumors about his grades.
Bill, can’t speak for you but I certainly am relieved it was just grades, for a minute there I thought Arik found his perfect home in Gainesville, perhaps get some 5star on 5star weed counseling and possibly even get to room up with BCox…what better place to get mentored by a former weed addict transformed into future FU Magna Cum Laude, but hey, since it’s only a grades problem I’m guessing the next Arik Gilbert news we all will be hearing about will come from a tiny school in South Alabama, where he’ll announce he is rooming up with that other poor Oline sap that was all of a sudden to dumb to qualify in Mulletville after Arik announced his transfer portal decision, what was his name? Oh yeah, Adrien Strickland, a massive Offensive Lineman…how ironic would that be? I see big things coming at South Alabama…go jags!
Glad he is not at Florida either, although I think we beat them regardless.
That Nick Saban isn’t after him says something.
From another site. Can’t vouch for it’s accuracy. “Alabama has recruited him heavily for a while now. They wanted him to choose the Tide after entering the transfer portal in the first place. Despite the emergence of Jahleel Billingsley, there is a hole at tight end due to Miller Forristall heading to the NFL Draft.”
Fansided. Makes the case for him going to Tuscaloosa. Also points out how he already passed over Bama twice now. And how Georgia doesn’t need him, and how could he possibly go to Tenn?
LSU could be his best bet to play in the SEC next year.
Be something if he returns to LSU.
Please Coach O, don’t take him back.
I get the feeling of “Good riddance!” but the guy’s young and away from home and weird pandemic year and blah blah blah and …. whatever. He’s such a freakish athlete that I want to see him back in purple and gold but not at the expense of whatever his problem is. I DEFINITELY don’t want to have to defend against him he’s a matchup nightmare.
His backup (or now, starter), Kole Taylor of “The Shoe Thrown Round the SEC World” fame, is from the town I live in now in western Colorado and I can’t help but want to see him start. I’m torn about the whole thing. I’ll trust Coach O on this one.
good post
Coloradeaux, you must be kidding? It would take something North of beating the whatchamacallit out of his girlfriend to keep Saban away from this kid… Smoking weed, no problem.
Academics wouldn’t even register. If he could be admitted, after that it wouldn’t matter.
Head case? We got plenty. He’s right where he should be.
One question Connor…why is anything Arik Gilbert related still getting a Lizard logo, Kind of a slap in their face isn’t it? In case you haven’t heard, he never played or attended FU…perhaps a LSShoe logo would be more appropriate at this stage, at least he made it there. Just sayin…
Ha! I thought the same thing. Show me a real photo of him in a Gator uniform…
Thank you but we will be glad to let GA have him back. We have our own train wrecks to deal with
In all honesty I hope Gilbert sorts everything out, gets on track and goes to UT.
TE is not a position of need for UGA and UGA is not going to roll the dice on a questionable player, i.e. Zach Evans
Lord knows UT needs some players and something to feel good about. UT isn’t beating UGA with 10 Gilberts on the roster.
A player dealing with personal issues should avoid the I-75 Truck Stop like the plague. Sending players with issues to the I-75 Truck Stop is like sending a drunk to a bar, during happy hour.
I like our chances with 10 Gilbert’s.
Yes, UT would have a chance, on par with the chances Lloyd Christmas had with Mary Swanson
“so you’re telling me there’s a chance”
Vol coaching staff…sign Arik quickly…He’s exactly what your program needs right now…a major locker-room-cancer.
He seems to be taking the Maurice Clarrett path to legendary implosion. Hopefully, he starts getting and listening to some good advice because otherwise he’ll be just another guy talking one day about what might have been.
I was thinking more like Tate Martell.
Martell is a better comparison. He keeps looking for a magical portal to a universe where he is a good QB.
It seems like Georgia is on the outside looking in with Gilbert. I say that because he’s had two chances and picked two other schools.
I have no idea of why he’s decommitted twice, but the notion that Florida was a great choice makes no sense. Yes, Pitts was phenomenal. But that was with a 5th year Senior QB who was putting up Heisman numbers. The Florida QB situation has seen a drastic change with a first time starter with a 56% completion rate. There is no chance that Gilbert would’ve approached Pitts numbers in the 2021 Florida offense.
Nothing against Florida but there are many other offenses who can offer a much better situation for Gilbert in 2021.
Ohio State does a good job using there TE’s.
I know right, as we’ve been told several times by all of the expert predictors in Athens, the Gators are now doomed since Trask is gone. You know the same QB Dawg fans claimed wasn’t that good and would suck after his top WR’s left a year ago. Please keep the predictions coming, we all know how good you guys are at it. I especially love you using Jones’ completion percentage as if that’s an exact indicator when he’s only thrown the ball about 50 times in 3 years lol. By the way, he’s a career 64% passer, but don’t let facts get in the way of your criticism.
How good was Trask when Pitts wasn’t in the game?
Actually, pretty good. Check the UGA game (When Pitts left I believe it was tied) and the two games after he went 49 of 64 for 739 yards, 9 tds and no ints. Trask made costly mistakes against LSU for sure but still passed for 474 yards.
QBs are judged by wins and losses. Trask was just ok by that standard. Could have won the Heisman but he and UF choked it away with 4 losses. So Trask was good by UF standards but really not that good when it counted.
That would be like your manager at McDonalds saying it was your fault fry sales were down
Nothing wrong with working for a living. Even if it’s at McDonalds. Always take pride in your work no matter what you do.
Unless it’s trolling internet boards
I don’t get paid for trolling Gator fans. It’s strictly a labor of love. LMAO.
This kid seems like poison…talented but greatly troubled. He does not understand the word “WE”.
It amazes me how some posters on here refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room concerning the Gilbert debacle. This is not over academics. He could take classes like golf 101 in the summer where all you have to do is breathe to get an A.
Eli Ricks tweeted Arik and told him to “just wait on it”. Having trouble spinning that into anything academic related. Also, Dwight Mcglothern tweeted him and told him to come back to LSU… where is the article on these tweets? I see the one about the qbs tweeting him.
I’m torn on whether or not I want this kid back at LSU… his talent is undeniable, but the baggage may be too much even for me. He recently tweeted on feb28, “a dying breed lost in a sea of metal”… if I’m a current LSU player this tweet probably bothers me a bit.
My little birds are also telling me there is a chance that Kary Vincent comes back to the program. LSU has one spot left in the class. Can we get both Arik and Kary? They were both in previous classes… but they entered the portal/opted out. If both came back do we get someone else with the 25th spot? That spot is very important with LSU in a championship window this season with all the other SEC teams being down this year.
I also heard that the best TE in the 2022 class Johnson is an LSU lock, does arik coming back hurt that?
Harsin has likely already reached out to him
UGA has TE’s??
Well if grades are in any way his issue, which seems a VERY real possibility here, then I believe he is definitely bound for Tennessee. One of his fellow high school players that he won a state championship sucked so bad he ended up at UT and he was just posting on twitter this week for Gilbert to join him again.
Tennessee is also the one school he could stay in The SEC with and still get in even if his grades are such an issue, he can’t even spell his own name.
There’s an interesting option that has not been discussed, Ole Miss… There’s an incoming freshman that could still have a back injury and need some time to develop, there’s one of the top QB’s in the country, and there’s an outgoing TE that didn’t have the talent of Arik (Temple transfer), but looked like a 5 star in Kiffin’s system.
He was going to have to sit out at Florida this season barring a waiver from the SEC, and that’s still the situation if he choses an SEC team unless the NCAA votes to issue a blanket waiver like they’re rumored to be doing soon – but I’ll believe that when I see it, even this season. His best bet is to stick with LSU if he’s married to the SEC.
He can go wherever because I don’t care. O gara sux.