If, like me you thought former Nebraska football highly touted player Ark Gilbert’s college career was over, then you’re in for a bit of a surprise. Gilbert has officially transferred to FCS level Savannah State and will attempt to finally reach the level of stardom his talent has long hinted at.
Of course, in order to reach that level of stardom, he’s first going to have to actually play in a game. And should he do so this fall, it would be the first time that’s happened since 2022.
Former Nebraska star Arik Gilbert makes surprise return at Savannah State
Arik Gilbert was one of Matt Rhule’s first big transfer gets for the Nebraska football program back in 2023 and considering the kind of physical specimen he is, there were high hopes he could eventually make quite the impact. That despite the fact that there were already some warning signs.
Ex-LSU, Georgia and Nebraska tight end Arik Gilbert is set to be part of the team at Savannah State this year, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 29, 2025
The former top-10 recruit, who hasn’t played in a game since 2022, took part in spring ball at Savannah. https://t.co/jMASx5YPGd pic.twitter.com/PMxzlosoTY
In 2019, Gilbert was the #1 tight end prospect in the country and committed to LSU. However, after just eight games as a member of the Tigers in 2020, he “opted out” of the season after catching 35 passes for 368 yards and 2 touchdowns and then transferred to Georgia, but did not play in the 2021 season.
In 2022, he did finally get on the field and caught 2 passes for 16 yards and a touchdown. After that season, he came to Nebraska but needed to petition the NCAA for immediate eligibility as the the transfer rules we know now were still not totally in place.
The NCAA, as it’s known to do, dragged its feet for a ridiculously long time on giving Gilbert the go ahead and unfortunately, as he waited to see if he was going to play, got himself into some legal trouble. Eventually he quietly left Nebraska as well and headed back to his home region, where he found even more legal trouble.
And it’s here where he was mostly under the radar and appeared to be done playing. However, as it turns out, according to Matt Zenitz the former Nebraska football “what could have been” took part in Savannah State’s spring practice and is now officially part of the roster. Good luck to him as he tries tor restart a career that has mostly been full of fits and starts.