LSU Football: 247Sports makes optimistic prediction for Tigers freshman
By Zach Ragan
LSU football signed five-star tight end Arik Gilbert during the 2020 recruiting cycle.
LSU football pulled off the heist of the decade by stealing 2020 five-star tight end Arik Gilbert out of Georgia.
Gilbert, 6-foot-5/253 lbs from Marietta, GA (Marietta), was rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 5 overall 2020 recruit in the nation.
The talented tight end is an athletic freak who has the potential to create mismatch nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators in the SEC.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that 247Sports recently made an optimistic prediction for Gilbert’s freshman season.
The LSU football freshman could have a major impact in 2020
247Sports, unsurprisingly, listed Gilbert as one of the 10 most impactful freshmen in 2020.
“He’s as polished a receiving tight end as I’ve seen doing this. He would’ve been a five-star defensive end had he focused on that,” said 247Sports recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong.
The 247Sports scouting report for Gilbert says that he “brings mismatch ability to the tight end position with both size and athleticism”. While also noting that Gilbert “can play attached, split out as a wide receiver or as a ‘move’ tight end”.
Gilbert should have plenty of opportunities to shine for the Tigers in 2020 — especially with Thaddeus Moss and Stephen Sullivan off to the NFL.
Of course, who knows how LSU will actually use Gilbert. His athletic ability will allow Tigers offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger to move him around quite a bit. Gilbert is too big for a defensive back to cover, but he’s too athletic for a linebacker to cover.
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I would usually hesitate to say this, but Gilbert might actually be “unstoppable” in college.
LSU fans should be incredibly happy he’s in Baton Rouge and not in Athens, or another SEC town.