The Georgia football team has yet another elite tight end option in former five-star Arik Gilbert.
During the Dawgs’ annual spring game, one thing was crystal clear for Georgia football fans: Arik Gilbert is going to be a problem for opposing SEC defenses this season.
The former five-star tight end from Marietta has had a tumultuous first two years of college. He initially committed to LSU and played for Ed Orgeron in 2020. Gilbert left the program before briefly enrolling at Florida. He then came aboard in Athens, but did not play a snap last year for the national champions. Now in a good spot for him personally, he is showing everyone what he does.
With Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington already in the tight end room, Gilbert and true freshman Oscar Delp’s insertion into will be too hot for any team in the SEC to handle defensively.
Georgia football: Arik Gilbert puts on a clinic during Dawgs’ spring game
Gilbert took advantage of Bowers and Washington being held out of spring practice due to injuries. He made up for lost time and seems to have quickly developed quite the rapport with starting quarterback Stetson Bennett IV. Look for offensive coordinator Todd Monken to 13 personnel the opposition to death with Bowers, Gilbert and Washington all on the football field at the same time.
.@StetsonIv connects with @arik_gilbert for the first score of the game‼️
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) April 16, 2022
Watch live on ESPN2: https://t.co/ePBADRzZYS pic.twitter.com/3kgsKtMjMi
.@StetsonIv ➡️ @arik_gilbert connection is 🔥🔥🔥
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) April 16, 2022
Watch live on ESPN2: https://t.co/ePBADRzZYS pic.twitter.com/lHhnaJld8q
Arik Gilbert making plays for UGA today and looking good. If he's healthy and settled in this fall, he's going to make that Georgia TE group very, very scary with him and Brock Bowers. Good luck to defenses dealing with that kind of size and athleticism.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 16, 2022
Arik Gilbert with his second TD catch of Georgia's spring game, this time sneaking away from coverage in the back of the end zone, and Bennett finding him as Gilbert nicely straddled the back line.
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) April 16, 2022
Gilbert supposedly weighed over 300 pounds at the end of last season. He has cut some serious weight. If he drops down a tad more before the regular season starts, Gilbert could be as much of an on-field mismatch as Bowers is from the tight end position. The speed and power he plays with is just too much. Bennett has quite the war chest at his disposal when it comes to the tight ends.
Arik Gilbert just blocked a middle linebacker 10 yards down the field and through the back judge who wound up on the ground.
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) April 16, 2022
Here's his earlier TD pic.twitter.com/4QOFkunmjb
If Arik Gilbert started January at 300 pounds and looks like this in mid-April then he will be terrifying by August
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) April 16, 2022
Brock Bowers, Arik Gilbert, Darnell Washington, and Oscar Delp is an absolutely absurd tight end room. I am salivating
— dr. jxke 🧸 (@cantguardjake) April 16, 2022
Ultimately, offense is not going to be the issue for Georgia this year in its national title defense. They have depth everywhere and should be playing with a ton of confidence after how last season ended. Where Georgia must improve is in the trenches defensively, as the Dawgs have to offset losing many key pieces from one of the greatest defensive front-sevens in college football history.
For now, Dawg Nation simply cannot wait to see what Gilbert can do in the passing game this fall.
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