On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Former LSU tight end Arik Gilbert has had a unique path throughout his collegiate career after signing with the Tigers in the 2020 Recruiting Cycle.
Following one season in Baton Rouge, Gilbert made the move to the Georgia Bulldogs before a stint with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
With off-the-field issues plaguing his career, Gilbert has taken home the title as one of the biggest "busts" of all-time.
The five-star Swiss Army Knife of a tight end had the complete package, but after one season with the Tigers, decided to transfer where the wheels fell off in his production.
"While he still has time remaining on his eligibility clock, it would take a significant turnaround for Arik Gilbert to revitalize his college football career. He landed at LSU ahead of the 2020 season as one of the most prized tight ends in recruiting history, delivered a promising start to his career as a true freshman and has hardly seen the field since," 247Sports wrote.
"Gilbert transferred to his home state and suited up for Georgia as a converted wide receiver, but he also missed much of his sophomore year for personal reasons.
"He later joined the Nebraska roster but was promptly arrested and never played for the Huskers. Gilbert is now back in the transfer portal for a third time."
Arik Gilbert has had one of the craziest CFB careers ever:
— College Sports Only ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) April 29, 2025
- 2019: #1 TE recruit in country commits to LSU
- 2020: Opts out of LSU's season after 8 games
- 2021: Transfers to Georgia but doesn't play
- 2022: Has 2 catches all season for Georgia
- 2023: Transfers to Nebraska,… pic.twitter.com/4wPYQuuPzZ
Now, Gilbert has made the move to join Savannah State for the 2025 season. He worked through Spring Camp with the program and is eyeing a return to the field.
It's been a unique career to this point for the former five-star talent, but now with a chance to get back on the gridiron, he's set to be back in the Peach State.
More LSU News:
LSU Football Wide Receiver Donating NIL Money Back to High School for Title Rings
LSU Football Holds Commitments From a Pair of Top-10 Wide Receivers in America
Brian Kelly's Take: LSU Football Searching for Ideal Starting Offensive Line Rotation
More must-reads:
- CFB Week 0 winners, losers: Fourth-down decisions loom large in ranked Big 12 showdown
- Big Ten's College Football Playoff expansion idea is 'absurd,' ESPN host says
- The '2024-25 NFL rushing touchdown leaders' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
CFB Week 0 winners, losers: Fourth-down decisions loom large in ranked Big 12 showdown
Kansas State HC defends controversial fourth-down call, blames field conditions in Ireland
Five takeaways from college football's Week 0
College football is back. The wacky, wild and unexpected that makes the sport so beloved was on full display Saturday with rainy weather, walk-off field goals and near-upsets welcoming fans back. Here are five takeaways from Week 0. Iowa State secured a major win Most college football programs haven't played a down yet, but No. 22 Iowa State has already secured a very important win. Five different teams have won the Big 12 in the last five seasons. Iowa State has been close during that stretch, but hasn't been one of the. Defeating rival No. 17 Kansas State, 24-21, to open the season is a big step forward, no matter how sloppy it was. It's Iowa State's fifth win in the last six Farmageddon meetings. In a wide-open Big 12 race, beating another challenger early in the year means something. The Dan Mullen era at UNLV got off to a rocky start The former Florida and Mississippi State head coach spent the last three seasons away from coaching, but he's returned to the sideline at UNLV. The Rebels needed all 60 minutes to hold off FCS Idaho State, 38-31, despite being favored by 25.5, according to DraftKings. It's not like Idaho State is an FCS juggernaut either. The Bengals have won just 10 games since 2021, but behind 555 yards of total offense they nearly pulled off the upset. UNLV's saving grace was four interceptions. It's just one game, but it showed there's work to do for Mullen. A short week of practice is in store ahead of a Friday matchup at Sam Houston State. Jalon Daniels made a statement Looking for a Heisman-worthy performance? Look no further than Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels. He was nearly flawless in the first half of KU's 31-7 win over Fresno State, going 13-for-15 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't need to finish the blowout and wound up with three total touchdowns. Daniels' talent is unquestioned, but his health has hampered both his career and the Jayhawks. He started every game last season, which was a welcome sight after missing 10 games in 2023 to a back injury and four games in 2022 for a shoulder injury. If he stays healthy, KU could be a factor in the Big 12 race. Stanford has fallen hard From 2009-18, Stanford won at least eight games each season. More recently, the Cardinal haven't won more than four games in each of the last six seasons. New quarterback Ben Gulbranson struggled in his Stanford debut, going 15-for-30 for 109 yards and a pick. Meanwhile, Hawaii's Micah Alejado (27-for-39 for 210 yards and two touchdowns) suffered a foot injury early in the game, but hobbled his way through the game to give his team a 23-20 victory. Stanford has lost nine of its last 10 games dating back to September 28, 2024. These are tough times for a once-proud program. Week 0 needs a little more energy College football's Week 0 isn't a new thing, but it does feel like the sport needs to decide how big it's going to be. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic has become the tentpole event of Week 0, bringing two quality programs to Ireland. However, the game generates excitement in the early part of the day, but the rest of Saturday left much to be desired. There isn't another marquee matchup, and it seems the primetime slot could provide another big moment to kick off the season. Schedules are made well in advance, but a fun idea would be to have the defending champion play in primetime during Week 0. Honor the champion, raise a banner and give the program an opportunity to stand alone in the limelight before the full slate of Week 1 games.
Browns HC, Shedeur Sanders clear air on controversial benching during two-minute drill
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders appeared to be frustrated with Kevin Stefanski when the head coach took him out for the final offensive drive of Saturday's preseason game. The Browns made a curious decision to put in Tyler Huntley to lead the offense in the final two minutes of their final preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field. Huntley, who has almost no chance of making the 53-man roster, engineered a six-play, 46-yard drive that ended in a game-winning field goal to give the Browns a 19-17 win. Following the game, Stefanski was asked about why Sanders approached him before Huntley went in. Stefanski claimed the rookie quarterback was just being a competitor, and there was nothing more to it than that, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Sanders told reporters he didn't know the Browns were benching him for the two-minute drill. "I didn't know I was out, Sanders said via video from ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi. "I was on a bike that was powering up... I was powering up for that two-minute drive. Because that's just a situation every quarterback dreams for... I thought I was in. So then (Stefanski) told me I wasn't in. I was like, 'Ok.'" Sanders left the game after leading the offense to five straight punts. He struggled in his second preseason appearance, going 3-of-6 passing for 14 yards. The fifth-round pick took six sacks for -50 yards. Sanders didn't want to leave on that low note. The Browns shouldn't have let him. Stefanski should have given Sanders the chance to run the two-minute offense and gain valuable experience instead of giving reps to a player who won't be on the roster by Tuesday afternoon.
Phillies get terrible injury news on ace starting pitcher
The Philadelphia Phillies received the update they did not want to hear on Saturday. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced. He will have surgery to correct the issue with a recovery time of six to eight months. There is no way to sugarcoat this for the Phillies — this is brutal news and a potentially crushing blow to their World Series chances in the National League. While they still have a strong rotation and two excellent front-line starters in Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, Wheeler is their unquestioned ace and has been one of the best overall pitchers in the National League since he joined the Phillies prior to the 2020 season. The Phillies are still pretty much a playoff lock at this point and entered the weekend with a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East standings. But taking a front-line starter away from them this late in the season is going to be impossible to replace. With Wheeler, Sanchez and Suarez, they would have had a fierce trio to throw at teams in a short series (or a best-of-seven series) that could have stacked up with anybody. Sanchez and Suarez are still going to give them a great chance, but it's definitely not what they wanted. Prior to Saturday's announcement, Wheeler had a 2.71 ERA and was leading the league in both strikeouts (195) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) pitched. He also has the lowest WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) in the league (.935).
World Series-winning pitcher won't commit to playing beyond 2025
Jon Gray’s season was all but officially ended last week by a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome and a subsequent placement on the Rangers’ 15-day injured list. TOS surgery would keep Gray sidelined for a big chunk of the 2026 season and perhaps the entirety of next year, and Gray would be 35 on Opening Day 2027. The idea of hanging up his glove entirely has apparently at least crossed Gray’s mind, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Gray “responded mostly with a shrug” when asked by reporters Friday if he was going to keep playing beyond this season. When asked about pitching again in 2025, Gray said “I don’t have any idea about the future. I guess there is always hope. But it’s hard to have hope with everything that’s happened. It’s just become a really frustrating pattern.” That said, Gray noted that he had some interest in looking to “go out with a good feeling” rather than be somewhat forced out of baseball due to injury. Given that a TOS surgery hasn’t even been officially planned yet, it is probably too soon to be reading too much into Gray’s immediate reaction, as his emotions are (understandably) raw about this latest major setback to his career. There is no rush for him to make any big decision about his playing career, and naturally Gray might want to take his time in considering whether or not to walk away from the game entirely. This major injury adds another layer, however, to what was already looking like a crossroads of an offseason for the right-hander. Gray is in the final season of his four-year, $56M contract, and he has pitched only 14 innings this season due to a broken wrist suffered during spring training, and then this most recent IL placement. The Rangers have used Gray out of the bullpen rather than as a starter, and he has struggled to a 7.71 ERA over his six appearances. The sample size is small enough that it’s hard to make any clear observations from Gray’s 2025 performance, and five homers allowed over his 14 innings obviously skewed his numbers to some extent. It still clearly wasn’t the type of platform year Gray was hoping for heading into free agency, and if healthy, he would’ve likely been looking at a one-year guarantee from a team hoping he could bounce back. The TOS surgery could make a two-year deal a possibility, with a minimal salary in the first year and a larger commitment for 2027 when Gray is presumably healthy, yet the overall size of that contract doesn’t figure to be too pricey considering the shaky track record of pitchers returning in good form after thoracic outlet syndrome. Injuries have been a frequent concern for Gray, as a variety of issues (foot problems, an MCL strain, an oblique strain, blisters, shoulder inflammation, a forearm strain, multiple groin strains in 2024 and his fractured wrist) have led to IL stints over the course of his 11 major league seasons. Despite these health woes and the fact that he spent his first seven seasons pitching in the thin air with the Rockies, Gray has a respectable 4.49 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate over 1230 2/3 career innings. Chosen third overall by Colorado in the 2013 draft, Gray didn’t quite reach the star level associated with such lofty draft status, but he has been a solid rotation member over his career with some flashes of being a frontline starter. If this is indeed it for Gray, he can look back with pride on a long career that included a World Series ring with Texas in 2023. (Gray contributed to that title with a 1.59 ERA over 5 2/3 relief innings during the Rangers’ postseason run.) Grant suggested two other factors that might impact any of Gray’s retirement plans. Gray has over 10 years of MLB service time — officially crossing that threshold earlier this season — and therefore is already qualified for a full pension. There is also the widespread expectation that MLB will be facing a work stoppage when the collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season, so if Gray does indeed miss next year while rehabbing, a return to the field could be even further delayed by a lockout.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
