5-star ATH talks Tennessee, catching touchdowns

MARIETTA, Ga. — Walk onto the practice field at Marietta High (Ga.) and the level of talent in attendance is obvious. The Blue Devils are buzzing with D1 prospects, yet even then, Arik Gilbert stands out amongst the pack.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound athlete is one of the top prospects in the 2020 class and it’s easy to see why. During a spring practice in mid-May, Gilbert, a 5-star who already holds more than 25 scholarship offers, played defensive end, tight end, outside linebacker and even some wideout.

“I do a little bit of everything,” he said, flashing a wide grin.

“I probably need to decide sometime soon which (position) I want to play in college.”

Gilbert is being recruited as an athlete by most schools, with Georgia, his first offer, Tennessee, LSU and Clemson among the schools recruiting him the hardest.

Asked if he’s leaning toward one side of the ball or the other, Gilbert responded: “Catching touchdowns.”

The Vols made a big impression the 5-star during his first visit to campus in April, with Gilbert enjoying watching practice and seeing how offensive coordinator Tyson Helton wants to utilize his tight ends in a pro-style system. He got to meet Jeremy Pruitt, who told him he could be one of the keys to turning around the program, as well as start to build a relationship with tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer.

“Tennessee is a really good program,” Gilbert said.

“I think they know what they’re doing. I think they’re going to be good in a couple of years.”

Gilbert’s favorite player is Rob Gronkowski and it’s not hard to see why. Both are physical freaks and during practice sometimes, Gilbert said he mimics the ‘Gronk Spike’ after finding the end zone.

“I can’t wait to do that in a game one day,” he said.

As a sophomore, Gilbert finished the season with 54 receptions for yards 570 and seven touchdowns — ranking second on the team in every category behind only new Tennessee wideout commit Ramel Keyton. Gilbert also added 62 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and six sacks on defense.

After playing baseball in the spring, Gilbert said he’s “getting back into football shape now” and “really working on my routes, finishing my routes and trying to be more explosive.”

Gilbert currently claims no leaders in his recruitment and plans on visiting plenty of schools this summer.

“I’m kind of trying to take things slow right now,” he said.