Clint Lamb
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The LSU football program continues to take hits, both on the field and off it, and head coach Ed Orgeron has had a rough stretch following his national championship win last season.
The latest hit may come from freshman phenom Arik Gilbert. According to a tweet from Brody Miller of The Athletic, the former five-star tight end is “heavily considering” a departure from Baton Rouge.
#LSU star freshman Arik Gilbert is heavily considering leaving LSU and missed practice today, sources tell The Athletic. @247Sports first to report.
Gilbert has been homesick since he arrived, sources say, and LSU is currently fighting to keep him.
— Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) December 8, 2020
This would be a massive blow to the Tigers. 247Sports had Gilbert listed as the highest-rated tight end prospect ever to come out of high school.
According to the website’s composite rankings, Gilbert was the No. 5 player in the 2020 class, as well as the No. 1 tight end and top player from the state of Georgia. He chose LSU over Alabama and several other prominent programs.
This news comes less than a week after the Tigers lost star wide receiver Terrace Marshall to an opt-out.
This LSU program is clearly headed in the wrong direction. After going undefeated and winning the national title last season, the Tigers are now 3-5 and coming off of an embarrassing 55-17 home loss to Alabama.
Unfortunately, things don’t look like they’re going to get better any time soon.
Gilbert is currently second on the team in receptions (35) and receiving yards (368) while adding two touchdowns. At 6-foot-5, 253 pounds, he is an athletic specimen who could add to a number of offenses around college football.
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
just how homesick is he? OU needs one.
I’m not sure if this is the message you want to be sending NFL scouts if you’re a highly touted Prospect. When the going gets tough on a national title team…I abandon ship? I’d advise against that. That image could be the difference in you being a top 10/ first round pick or a 3rd-4th rounder.
Furthermore, I don’t know who in their right mind thought this LSU team was top five preseason. That was a stupid ranking. They lost 14-15 starters to the NFL off last year‘s team, so this is an entirely different team. If I am advising this kid I’m telling him to hang in there until next year and his junior year, because LSU will be right back in the mix.
There’s smoke coming from a dumpster in Baton Rouge and the signals are O rings. A lot of coaches are not going to survive this season. This is more than just kids missing mama’s mashed potatoes. This is a toxic culture under way. Stay tuned, 2020 ain’t done yet
Yeah it makes you wonder what’s going on for sure. I’m not sure what attitude could change on a championship team that drastically in a season. The players could be a little too pampered and not used to overcoming the adversity of losing, the coaches may be losing their patience and becoming tyrants under pressure…or all the above.
I guess he could always jump across the gulf to Florida. We have one of, if not the best TE coaches in the business and a vacancy after Kyle Pitts goes top 10 next spring. If this year doesn’t count toward eligibility it doesn’t hurt. Come on over kid, we can work on that Emory to Arik connection for 2021!