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Jeremy Pernell: A Boom-or-Bust Addition at Tight End
Fourth in a series on Nebraska football’s transfer additions heading into fall camp. |
Along with inheriting a depleted receiver room, first-year Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule needs to navigate the loss of one of the Big Ten's most consistent tight ends. Between his time at Rutgers (2017-18) and Nebraska (2018-22), Travis Vokolek played in 45 career games and made 25 starts. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens this offseason as an undrafted free agent.
Thanks to the tremendous untapped potential of a finally healthy Thomas Fidone and the emergence of unheralded former walk-on Nate Boerkircher, the Husker tight end room could actually see a dramatic uptick in production.
Part of that optimism is the addition of Arik Gilbert, a former consensus five-star recruit in the 2020 class. As a high school senior, Gilbert was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, becoming the first tight end to win the award since its inception in 1985. He was also selected to play in the prestigious All-American Bowl and received an invitation to the exclusive Opening Finals.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Gilbert has the distinction of being the highest-rated tight end in the history of the modern recruiting era.
Coming out of Marietta High School, in a suburb of Atlanta, Gilbert had offers from the who's who of college football. He committed and signed with LSU over finalists Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M, while also having offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee and USC, among several others.
Gilbert enrolled early with the Tigers and despite the unconventional offseason due to the COVID-19 outbreak, he burst onto the college football scene as a true freshman. He started all eight games he played in and was voted to the Freshman All-SEC team after catching 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. A sign of his impact on the offense; 24 of his 35 receptions resulted in either a first down or a touchdown, with 11 of them coming on third or fourth down.
Physically imposing and a freak athlete for his size, at just 18 years old, Gilbert was already a man among boys playing in the SEC.
After immediately putting the conference on notice, Gilbert was on the NFL's radar as someone to keep close tabs on over the next couple seasons. Unfortunately, his once-promising career has been sidetracked ever since.
Gilbert initially opted out of the final two games of the 2020 season with various reports indicating he was "homesick." Roughly one month later on Jan. 5, 2021, he put his name in the transfer portal.
On Jan. 31, he announced plans to transfer to Florida but backed off that on Feb. 28. At one point in April there was talk he might return to LSU after then-head coach Ed Orgeron had an in-person meeting with him. Ultimately, he landed at Georgia on June 1.
A preseason second-team All-America pick by Pro Football Focus, Gilbert was expected to play a big role in Athens with coaches planning to use him primarily at receiver where he would be an impossible mismatch. He ended up stepping away from the team in August while remaining enrolled in school because of "some personal issues," according to Georgia coach Kirby Smart, and never played during the 2021 season.
Gilbert rejoined the team in January 2022 and had a strong spring for the Bulldogs, catching two touchdowns in the spring game. Prior to the season, he was named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award as hopes were rekindled.
Those expectations never materialized, however, as he logged only 31 total snaps in three games, finishing with just two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Local media routinely asked Kirby Smart about Gilbert's absences on gameday with the coach often explaining that the program was working to support him off the field as much as on it.
His last game appearance with the Bulldogs came against Vanderbilt on Oct. 15, and the last time he traveled with the team was for their game against Mississippi State on Nov. 12. His off-field issues proved too much, and he was dismissed from the program after the regular season, once again entering the transfer portal on Dec. 21.
Without getting into specifics, I can tell you none of Gilbert's issues are an indictment against his character. He was well-liked by his teammates and coaches in both Baton Rouge and Athens. He's the sort of generational talent that a team like Nebraska is smart to take a flier on, and Matt Rhule certainly did his due diligence vetting him.
Rhule got insight into Gilbert's situation from Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown, who played for him at Western Carolina and was part of his coaching staffs at both Temple and Baylor from 2011 to 2018.
He also spoke with former Husker Jake Peetz, who is currently the pass-game specialist for the Los Angeles Rams. Peetz, who nearly took the quarterback coaching job with the Huskers this offseason, coached under Rhule at Carolina and was also at LSU in 2021.
Rhule got Gilbert on campus for an under-the-radar visit Jan. 13-15. Nebraska's coach mapped out a plan for him and a support system that would be in place. Gilbert announced his commitment to the Huskers on Jan. 19.
There are still some hurdles to clear in order for Gilbert to be eligible this season. Since this is his second transfer, he needs a waiver from the NCAA or else he must sit out the 2023 season. Georgia has said it won't stand in the way of that, and Nebraska officially applied for the waiver in mid-to-late May.
In early April Matt Rhule was asked for an update on Gilbert's eligibility after a spring practice. "When I took Arik, I told him, I said 'Hey, this is a long-term play for you and your future.' So if it works out where he can play this year, which I believe he should be able to, then great. If he can't, then we're going to help him get ready for next year or the NFL," Rhule told reporters.
Local media will likely ask Rhule about Gilbert's status again at Big Ten Media Days, but we probably won't know the decision on his waiver until deep into fall camp.
After using his redshirt on the 2021 season, Gilbert will have three years available to play three seasons. I don't think he'll be in Lincoln that long, however. Despite his off-the-field issues, he's still getting hard looks by NFL scouts who will assuredly be in Lincoln to watch him practice in August.
He's the quintessential boom-or-bust transfer. If he's cleared to play and dialed in on the field, he's too uniquely talented not to stand out and he'll head to the NFL. If he continues to struggle with his issues, unfortunately, I can see this being a short stint and him joining a long list of "what could have been" players.
