Early Returns on LSU Football Freshman Tight End Arik Gilbert All Positive
It's only been a week of fall practice but freshman tight end Arik Gilbert is making a strong impression on his new teammates. The Marietta, Georgia native is one of the most highly touted prospects to come to Baton Rouge.
The freshman is expected to be one of the go to targets for junior quarterback Myles Brennan after leading Marietta High School to its first Class 7A state championship since 1967 by catching 105 passes for 1,860 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. It's those stats that helped him become the Gatorade Athlete of the Year and a Mackey Award watch list honoree, the only freshman to be named to the list.
"Having him out there is crazy, I mean he runs like a receiver but he has the body type of a tight end," Brennan said. "I don't think he's missed a single pass since the start of camp. He's an outstanding athlete and we are very, very, very grateful to have him on the roster."
With Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall demanding much of the attention on the outside, it's fair to surmise that Gilbert will be in constant mismatches as the potential third option on offense.
LSU senior safety JaCoby Stevens has seen up close and personal what Gilbert is capable of. Though it's only been a few days of actual offense vs defense, Stevens is impressed with the speed and strength of Gilbert.
"He can run a route like he's a receiver and he's 250 pounds. I mean there's been a couple of times where Arik will run a route and kind of bang into me and I just have to absorb it," Stevens said. "He's a freak of nature and coach O wasn't wrong when he called him Megatron. He really can move like a receiver and that's 250 pounds with 4.4. speed running at you."
That "Megatron" nickname Stevens is alluding to is based off of comments Orgeron made a few months back in regards to how the team plans to use Gilbert this season. Long time Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is the originator of the "Megatron" nickname, having had some of his most successful seasons under offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, who is now the passing game coordinator at LSU.
Because he "runs routes like a receiver," Orgeron says the team will split him out wide, line him up in the slot and have him put his hands in the dirt at tight end.
"The guy you've gotta look at is Arik Gilbert, I'm considering Arik Gilbert as a wide receiver," Orgeron said on Off the Bench. "I can't wait for him to come back. Obviously we can use him at tight end but we can split him out at "X" and we can get some mismatches with this kid, especially in the redzone. He's going to be a nice target there for Myles Brennan.
"We can use some of the same plays with Arik that Scott ran with Megatron, I'm not saying he's going to be Megatron but he's a good player."
