Georgia football: Arik Gilbert taking time off for ‘personal reasons’

Arik Gilbert is not on the Georgia football team right now, as he takes some time off for “personal reasons.”

Former five-star tight end Arik Gilbert did not participate in the Georgia football team’s scrimmage on Saturday.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said Gilbert is not practicing with the team, but he hopes Gilbert will be back with the team soon. The Marietta, Georgia native originally committed to LSU and played his true freshman season for the Tigers last season. Gilbert left LSU before the end of the year. He briefly transferred to Florida before joining his home state’s flagship program this winter.

Georgia begins the 2021 college football season with a neutral-site affair vs. Clemson in Charlotte.

Georgia football: Arik Gilbert is taking some time off for “personal reasons”

Having an on-field talent like Gilbert in the passing game will go a long way towards helping the Dawgs get back into the College Football Playoff. While Georgia has been led by the defense throughout most out the Smart era in Athens, the Dawgs have a serious Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in JT Daniels. Gilbert was expected to be a big contributor this year.

The troubling part in all this is this is the third time we have seen Gilbert deal with some level of personal issues at an SEC blue-blood football program. Let’s hope he can get his situation under control, regardless of what he does or does not do on the football field. Georgia should be one of the best teams in the Power Five this season, but will be even better if Gilbert is a big part of it.

Gilbert had 35 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns in eight games for LSU last season.

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