Not many freshmen this year came with such hype as 5-star TE Arik Gilbert at LSU, who arrived from Marietta, Georgia

Gilbert impressed early in the preseason, and showed why he was a highly-recruited prospect with his first touchdown in his career on Saturday against Mississippi State.

Gilbert helped put the Tigers up late in the first half with a contested grab in the end zone. He bailed out QB Myles Brennan who was back-pedaling and falling down when he unleashed the pass. It was a two-yard TD catch, but Gilbert earlier made a 16-yard catch on that scoring drive.

With a 6-foot-5 and 249-pound frame, Gilbert is a huge target and a difficult matchup for opposing defenses.

Gilbert was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and was the first true tight end to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year since the inception of the award in 1985. He played at Marietta High School and last year caught 101 passes for 1,760 yards (117.3 yards per game) and 14 TDs as a senior.