ATHENS — The long wait to see what Arik Gilbert might look like in a Georgia football uniform ended Tuesday afternoon when the former LSU star took the field for the Bulldogs for spring practice.
Gilbert, wearing a No. 14 jersey and slightly heavier after a year off from the sport, is listed as a wide receiver on Georgia’s just-released 2022 football roster. But coach Kirby Smart’s comments during his spring practice preview news conference indicated Gilbert still will get a lot of looks at tight end, the position he played for the Tigers in 2020.
“Arik’s done a great job kind of integrating back into the team,” Smart said Tuesday. “He’s been here for a while now, working out with the team and doing well academically. … He’s fortunate that he’s going to get a lot of reps because of the two (tight ends) we have out. So, he’s going to get a lot reps, Ryland Goede’s going to get a lot of reps, Brett Seither’s going to get a lot of reps, (Oscar) Delp’s going to get a lot of reps. So, we have a lot of guys who are going to take reps for those roles at tight end.”
Earlier in his presser, Smart revealed that junior tight end Darnell Washington is going to miss spring practice with a “lower-leg situation.” The 6-foot-7, 265-pounder missed four games early in the season because of a foot injury, and his playing time was limited until late in the season.
Meanwhile, rising sophomore Brock Bowers, who earned freshman All-American honors as the Bulldogs’ leading receiver and scorer last season, also is sidelined for the spring. Bowers is recovering from postseason labrum surgery of his left shoulder.
“Our expectations of Arik are for him to be the best person he can be, first and foremost, and hopefully be the best player he can be. He's had a really good offseason. He continues to work."
Gilbert, a 6-5, 240-pound former five-star prospect from Marietta, starred for LSU in 2020. Starting all eight of the games in which he played, he earned freshman All-American honors by hauling in 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns.
Gilbert transferred to Georgia last summer in part because he wanted to expand his role to play more wide receiver. The Bulldogs offered an opportunity for that, with George Pickens out for what was expected to be the season with a torn ACL.
But Gilbert did not make it through the first week of preseason camp before leaving the team because of unspecified health issues. Gilbert did not practice with the Bulldogs the rest of the season or during any part of their run to the 2021 national championship.
“Arik was gone for a while, but he came back, even though he was up in weight,” senior wideout Kearis Jackson said. “Ever since he’s been back, I mean, he’s been bumping and grinding and just getting his weight back right and putting in the work to be the kind of player we know he’s capable of being.”
How much work Gilbert gets with the wideouts remains to be seen. The Bulldogs are somewhat short-handed there as well, with Pickens moving on to the NFL, Jermaine Burton transferring to Alabama and Justin Robinson transferring to Mississippi State.
But the rotation outside comes back largely intact, with split end Adonai Mitchell, flanker Jackson and slotback Ladd McConkey. Georgia also returns Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and is excited to get a look at a finally healthy Dominick Blaylock after he recovered from back-to-back knee injuries.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs added four wideouts in the 2022 recruiting class. However, Smart revealed that C.J. Smith, the highest rated of those, will miss spring practice after minor knee surgery.
Smart said the best thing everybody can do for Gilbert is, simply stated, not expect much from him. “Expectations follow guys,” Smart said of Gilbert. “I look at guys and follow guys that maybe sign here or sign somewhere else, and they carry this heavy burden of expectation. We don’t place that burden on anybody. I think sometimes they put it on themselves. I think sometimes social media does it, sometimes media in general will do it. For whatever reason, Arik’s a guy who has carried that burden with him in terms of expectation.
“Our expectations of Arik are for him to be the best person he can be, first and foremost, and hopefully be the best player he can be. He’s had a really good offseason. He continues to work. But that doesn’t put the expectation on him of, ‘this guy’s going to go out and set the world on fire.’ He’s trying to figure out where he fits in. He’s working really hard. He’s done everything we’ve asked.”
Traditionally, a half-dozen or more players miss spring practice with injuries. Smart said there will be more than that this year. Among the lettermen out who were mentioned by Smart were linebacker Rian Davis (leg), linebacker Smael Mondon (shoulder), defensive back Tykee Smith (knee), offensive lineman Tate Ratledge (foot) and linebacker Trezmen Marshall (knee). Smart said Arian Smith (knee) will be able to get limited work with the receivers but no contact.
Of the 19 early enrollees, five will be out because of offseason surgeries, including defensive lineman Bear Alexander (shoulder), offensive lineman Jacob Hood (ankle), defensive end C.J. Madden (shoulder), offensive lineman Griffin Scroggs (shoulder) and receiver C.J. Smith.
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