Nebraska football wait on Arik Gilbert bordering on ridiculous

Nebraska football is still waiting to find out if transfer tight end Arik Gilbert is eligible to play in 2023. They’re still waiting just days ahead of fall camp. Just a little over a month from the regular season.

More importantly, Gilbert is waiting to find out if he gets to play this year. And the fact that the wait is taking this long is starting to get a bit ridiculous.

This isn’t that tough. It shouldn’t take this long for the NCAA to grant Gilbert the waiver he needs to play this season. It says something that I wrote that the Nebraska football team was “still” waiting on Arik Gilbert news back in April. Three months, still nothing.

It turns out that I’m not the only one who is getting a little frustrated by the wait-over word as to whether Nebraska football will have a talented transfer from LSU by way of Georgia. It seems like head coach Matt Rhule is getting tired of being in limbo as well.

“I’ll say this. he should be able to play. In my opinion, Arik Gilbert should be able to play, but it’s not my decision,” Rhule said during an appearance at Big Ten Media Days. “I hope he can play, but if he can’t play, we’re going to stand by him. If you just take that approach with a lot of guys, good things will happen.”

Nebraska football still waiting

Gilbert, a former five-star tight end, played his freshman season at LSU and then transferred to Georgia, where he spent two seasons. The tight end landed with Nebraska football in the offseason.

Because Gilbert isn’t transferring because of a coach firing at Georgia, he needs a waiver from the NCAA to play right away. However, the NCAA is dragging its feet for reasons passing understanding.