A former five-star recruit out of Marietta, Ga., Arik Gilbert signed with UGA after a solid freshman season at LSU where he caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns in eight games played.
A more telling stat is Gilbert’s ability to win jump balls, something that the Bulldogs will be missing without star receiver George Pickens – who’s out indefinitely with an ACL tear.
Contested catch rate in 2020:
George Pickens – 9/15 – 60%
All other #UGA TE/WRs – 9/36 – 25%
Arik Gilbert – 8/14 – 57%
— Brent Rollins (@PFF_Brent) June 13, 2021
So at least on the surface, UGA may be able to plug-and-play Gilbert while Pickens rests up for a possible championship run.
Gilbert was the talk of SEC media days as well.
“I’ve been asked more about Arik more than anything else today,” quarterback JT Daniels said on Tuesday.
“He’s a playmaker, he’s a guy who you need to get the ball in his hands,” Smart said. “We’ve got to find out if he can sustain, if he’s got the stamina at that position to play that position, to play the X, to play the Z, play the slot. We’ll find ways to move him around.”
Gilbert turned heads as a freshman at LSU, catching 35 passes for 368 yards. His former head coach Ed Orgeron had only nice things to say about him.
“We wish him the best. He’s an outstanding young man,” Ed Orgeron said. “Mama is a great lady. I think he’s going to be an All-Pro tight end, All-American has a chance to be a first-round draft choice.”
With Pickens going down with injury, Daniels will need to find a new favorite target. The addition of Gilbert may make that a lot easier.
“Most impressive thing with him for me is how much he loves football. How much time he puts into it. It is impressive,” Daniels said. “There’s a lot of guys with great talent that like football. He’s a guy with great talent that loves football and it’s awesome to see.”
