Former LSU Tight End Arik Gilbert Decommits From Florida
Former LSU tight end Arik Gilbert is back in the NCAA transfer portal. On Sunday, Gilbert announced he would decommit from Florida and continue his search for another school.
The freshman tight end, who opted out of the 2020 season at LSU after eight games, recorded 35 receptions for 368 yards and two touchdowns for the purple and gold. Gilbert committed to Florida back on Jan. 31 but never enrolled in school.
His next announcement will come when he finds a home and once he's enrolled in a program that can best suit his talents and get him back on the field competing for playing time. At the time of his decommitment, much was speculated as to what exactly went wrong at LSU.
Gilbert himself was reportedly homesick and the move to Florida was closer to his hometown of Marietta, Georgia. The Florida program just punched out a bonafide top 10 pick in Kyle Pitts. Where Gilbert ultimately winds up is anybody's guess at this point.
LSU has since hired Jake Peetz as offensive coordinator and DJ Mangas as passing game coordinator. Mangas was one of the primary recruiters of Gilbert and the Tigers do have one graduate transfer spot available to get the team to 25 for the class. The Tigers are moving forward with Kole Taylor, Jalen Shead and Nick Storz, all talented but inexperienced options at tight end.
When Gilbert first announced his decommitment from the program, Florida and Georgia were the two landing spots that came up the most in the weeks that followed. Ed Orgeron talked about Gilbert's decision as soon as he went public with it and hoped he could convince the talented young tight end to come back to Baton Rouge.
"He's a great young man and we treat him like family," Orgeron said back in December.
