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Former 5-Star Recruit Arik Gilbert Is Transferring For Fourth Time

Originally posted on The Spun | By Matt Hladik | Last updated Dec 10, 2024 12:02 PM ET

There are several players who have become well-acquainted with the transfer portal since it was implemented by the NCAA in 2018.

Arik Gilbert is one of them. Originally the No. 1 tight end and No. 5 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class out of Marietta (Ga.), Gilbert began his college career at LSU but has been on the move frequently ever since.

According to a report from On3, Gilbert is once again in the transfer portal, the third time he's entered in his career. The 6-foot-5, 253-pound pass catcher was most recently at Nebraska, but left the program in 2023 after being arrested twice, including for a burglary/robbery.

“I just think he’s as talented a player as there is. He’s a player,” Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said about Gilbert before his legal issues. “What we want to do, like with all of our players, I want him in 10 years to say his life is better for having played with us at Nebraska. That’s all I care about with all these guys.

"What that means for him, I’m just getting to know him. I want him to have elite success in the classroom, I want him to go be involved in the community, I want him to have great relationships and I want him to go play well in football.”

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 21: Arik Gilbert #2 of the LSU Tigers runs the ball in the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium on November 21, 2020 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

As a freshman at LSU in 2020, Gilbert caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. He left for Georgia following the season, and after not suiting up for the Bulldogs in 2021, he caught two passes for 16 yards and a touchdown in 2022.

From there, Gilbert moved on to Nebraska, where his aforementioned run-ins with the law cost him a chance to play for the Cornhuskers.

Gilbert will be 23 in February, and his pedigree as a blue-chip recruit means a team could be enticed to take a chance on him in the portal.

He'll have to prove he can walk the proverbial straight and narrow though in order to have success at his next stop.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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