Five Play Prospect: Florida Gators TE Arik Gilbert Scouting Report
An eventful evening at the local Family Dollar for tight end Arik Gilbert. (No, seriously — that’s where he made his breaking announcement.)
On Sunday night, the college football world received word that Gilbert would make true of his intentions to transfer from LSU and take his talents to the University of Florida.
Coming out of high school, Gilbert was a consensus five-star, ranked as the fifth player in the class and the top-ranked tight end of all-time according to 247Sports recruitment rankings. Reigning from Marietta High School in Georgia, the once-coveted recruit elected to head to Baton Rouge for what he believed to be the next three to four years of his life.
During fall camp, the excitement surrounding Gilbert was immense, and rightfully so. Garnering praise from his coaches and teammates, the pairing of Gilbert and the Tigers looked as if it was made to perfection.
“He can run around like he’s a receiver and he’s 250-pounds. ... He’s a freak of nature, man. Coach O wasn’t wrong when he called him Megatron,” said LSU safety JaCoby Stevens.
The praise for the freshman didn’t stop there from his LSU teammates. Quarterback Myles Brennan also brought up his heightened route running ability for someone of his stature before giving a nod to his skills catching the football as well. “I don’t think he’s missed a single pass since we started camp. ... he’s an outstanding athlete.”
However, following the season, Gilbert took to the transfer portal in search of a new squad going forward. Bringing those talents described by his former teammates to Gainesville, Gilbert reloads a tight end position containing some glaring question marks following the departure of the Mackey Award-winning Kyle Pitts’.
Let’s take a look at five clips from Gilbert's tape to truly understand how substantial his presence will be for the Gators' offense upon arrival.
The Five Play Prospect series, which we began on AllGators last year, breaks down five clips of each enrolled prospect's high school film (plus some bonus college tape) to paint a picture of the strengths in their game and what they can continue to develop at Florida.
Go-to Target
Free rusher(s) at the quarterback? Conversion down? In trouble in any way? Throw it to Gilbert. He’s a reliable safety valve.
Last season while at LSU, Gilbert hauled in 24 receptions that went for a first down or touchdown, equating to 68.6% of all his receptions on the season. Meanwhile, 45.8% of those 24 receptions came on third or fourth down.
Here, on a third and goal for LSU, Gilbert resides as the broken play's safety outlet.
Having multiple free rushers at the quarterback, Brennan drops back ten yards off the line of scrimmage looking to make a play. Electing to target the true freshman tight end, Brennan lobs the ball in Gilbert’s direction off his back foot.
Going up and making the grab with the Mississippi State defender draped all over him Gilbert erases what was a turnover-worthy play with a spectacular grab to give LSU the lead in week one.
This snag by Gilbert reminiscent of this touchdown reception by Pitts in the Gators' 2020 season opener versus Ole Miss.
With the quarterback in similar distress, Trask lobs it up to Pitts who beats the double team and fights his way to haul in the ball and a Florida touchdown.
Gilbert provides the Gators offense a big-body target to utilize during broken-down plays. With new starting QB Emory Jones in search of a go-to target, Gilbert showcases just the skillset to become Jones' favorite target in unpropitious situations.
Yards After Catch
Possessing a 4.73 40-yard dash, Gilbert mixes his top-tier route running (which we’ll discuss in a moment) with the ability to take the top off of defenses with a deceiving amount of speed.
Getting the ball just two yards off the line of scrimmage, Gilbert turns what would usually be a five-yard gain by a tight end into a big hitter. After receiving the football, Gilbert immediately begins to look upfield to see just a few yards of green grass ahead before the first awaiting defender.
Using his strength to power through two would-be tacklers, Gilbert proceeds to turn on the jets, outrunning defenders until he's pushed out of bounds at the 10-yard line.
Maneuvering with such grace and athleticism, containing Gilbert is difficult both before and after making the reception causing nightmares for opposing defenses and their gameplans.
Route Running
Moving like a wide receiver in a tight end's body, Gilbert creates matchup problems for anyone he faces off against due to stature alone. Also possessing fluidity in his hips and polished footwork, Gilbert showcases this talent, here.
Getting off the ball quickly and feeling the inside leverage that the defensive back holds — in an attempt to prevent his ability to run any route across the middle — Gilbert sprints to the top of the route before beginning to quickly chop his feet and sink his hips as he works back towards the football.
Planting his feet and exploding back a step towards the line of scrimmage, Gilbert creates separation on the cornerback, makes the catch, and works the ball upfield for an extra three yards.
With a heightened route running prowess for tight end, Gilbert is an even more dangerous weapon — than he would be for just his size alone — that the Gators get to employ however they see fit.
Stretching the Field Vertically
It’s not very often you see a player of Gilbert’s stature move the way he does. In fact, I can’t think of anyone other than Pitts who does.
In this play, Gilbert is spread out wide to the top of the screen.
Being in what could be bracket coverage with the safety over the top to start the clip, when creeping down towards the line of scrimmage in an attempt to jump the snap and create pressure on the quarterback at the last second, Gilbert is left in one on one coverage with the defensive back.
Firing off the ball and getting level with the defender just 10 yards downfield, Gilbert is able to get on the corners outside hip and begins to push up the sideline.
Unforeseen by his defender, Gilbert burns past him as he gets caught with his eyes in the backfield. Running freely down the sideline, the Marietta tight end is able to come down with the easy pitch and catch to put six points on the scoreboard against Parkview.
With a misconceptions that this burning past defenders could come as a product of him being a better athlete than most of his high school opponents, Gilbert replicates that talent at the collegiate level.
Specifically, Gilbert l gets behind the Missouri defense for one of his two touchdowns on the season.
Lining up this time in the traditional three-point stance, Gilbert makes his way up the seam. Due to the lack of All-22 film, it is impossible to identify Missouri's coverage on this play. However, given Gilbert's position on the field when the ball is thrown, it can be assumed that he exploited a one-high look as the lone weakside receiver in the formation.
Having trips at the bottom of the screen at the snap, the safety likely rotates over towards that side of the field to account for the increased number of receiving options for the LSU quarterback to utilize. As a result, Gilbert takes advantage by keeping his defender on his outside hip, drifting back slightly to the inside to create an open window for Brennan to exploit.
Getting the ball at head level, the tight end is able to haul in the touchdown reception and execute the seam route to perfection, taking advantage of the out-of-place safety with no chance of recovering.
His ability to push down the field is not often seen by a tight end at any level, especially at a consistent rate. Knowing he had the coverage beat from the moment the ball was snapped in both instances, Gilbert provides a much-needed spark to any offense he lines up in and presents a towering presence to target deep down the field.
A reason the aforementioned “Megatron” title fits him so well.
Blocking
What sets Gilbert apart from the pack: An ability to block consistently.
With the seismic shift of tight ends from being extra offensive lineman to stretch receivers, a piece of the game that can start to be lost in the process is blocking.
Not with Gilbert.
In this play, Gilbert lines up in the backfield to the right of the quarterback. Serving in what would be considered a full-back role here, Gilbert is employed as the lead blocker on the play, responsible for setting the edge so the running back can have room to work on the outside.
Finding his assignment at the second level of the defense, Gilbert completely takes the linebacker crashing down towards the ball carrier out of the play, springing the back for a first down gain.
With a willingness to do the dirty work of a tight end, Gilbert’s tenacity as a lead blocker creates opportunities for check and releases that get him the ball in space with room to work.
Final Thoughts
This may be the biggest acquisition of talent during Dan Mullen's tenure as the Gators head coach.
Being difficult to encompass the totality of Gilbert's skillset into just five plays, the sections listed above are the areas of his game that stand out the most, not to mention his improving hands or positional versatility.
Standing at 6-foot-4, 253-pounds, Gilbert brings a near-mirror image of Pitts in his size and athleticism, providing as close to a replacement in 2021 as you can get for the projected top-20 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Last season at LSU, Gilbert accounted for 35 receptions, 368 yards, and two touchdowns as a true freshman. Seeing a high-volume of targets due to the opt-out of top pass catcher Ja’Marr Chase, the success that the Tigers saw in their passing game stemmed from the duo of Gilbert and Terrace Marshall Jr.
With useful experience in an SEC setting that saw respectable production, his addition has now created a loaded tight end room for Tim Brewster to lead.
Despite the likely shift from a predominant passing offense back to the traditional Dan Mullen staple, smashmouth spread, the tight end usage —consisting of Gilbert, Keon Zipperer, and Kemore Gamble — will be complementary to the rushing game in 2021.
However, with a weapon the caliber of Gilbert now in the fold, getting him snaps and touches will be paramount. Bringing capabilities as an every-down player and a schematical mismatch for opposing defenses, the possibilities for his usage are endless.
He's a man of little weakness — if any — and as a result, the sky is his limit for Gilbert in blue and orange.
