Former LSU and Georgia tight end Arik Gilbert was arrested early Tuesday morning on a felony burglary charge in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Gilbert, who transferred to Nebraska during the offseason and is currently waiting on a ruling from the NCAA to determine if he is eligible for the 2023 season, is accused of burglarizing a liquor and vape store. Surveillance video from the store shows a man breaking into the store by kicking down doors. The man, allegedly Gilbert, is then confronted by police on his way out of the store and is arrested.
Lincoln police said Gilbert attempted to steal over $1,600 worth of merchandise including cigars and vape pens.
Gilbert has had a tumultuous life and college career since he showed flashes of excellence in his freshman season at LSU. Gilbert had 35 catches for 365 yards and two scores in eight games in 2020 for the Tigers before transferring to Georgia ahead of the 2021 season.
The former five-star recruit sat out the 2021 season because of personal issues and played in just three games in 2022 for the national champions. The Georgia native was the No. 1 tight end in the class of 2020 and the No. 9 prospect overall out of high school.
“He’s had some struggles,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said Tuesday at a news conference. “He’s been working to overcome them. We have a great group of people here trying to help him and then obviously last night happened.”
Since Nebraska is Gilbert’s third school, he needs approval from the NCAA to play for the Cornhuskers. In the NCAA’s eyes, Gilbert’s move from LSU to Georgia counts as his one-time transfer and he must get a waiver to play right away after his second school switch. That waiver, however, is now trivial given Gilbert’s arrest.
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