Report: LSU’s Arik Gilbert to Enter Transfer Portal

The LSU Tigers could soon be losing the top-ranked player from its 2020 college football signing class.

Brody Miller of The Athletic reported on Monday night that freshman tight end Arik Gilbert is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday morning.

Miller reported that Gilbert missed practice on Monday, that he is homesick, and that LSU is trying to talk him into staying put.

A true freshman, Gilbert is LSU's leading active pass catcher with Terrace Marshall Jr. forgoing his eligibility to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, compiling 35 receptions for 368 yards and two touchdowns.

Keep in mind; players that enter their respective names in the transfer portal can take them out at any time and return to their current schools.

A five-star signee out of Marietta High School, located in Marietta, Georgia, Gilbert was named the 2020 National High School Gatorade Player of the Year.

247Sports ranked Gilbert as the best tight end in the 2020 signing class, as well as the number five player in the nation.

The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Gilbert caught five passes for 29 yards in LSU's 55-17 loss to the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide last Saturday night at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers, who are currently 3-5 on the season, return to the gridiron this Saturday when they travel to Gainesville, Florida to take on the sixth-ranked Florida Gators.

Gilbert, who committed to the Tigers last October, signed with the program in December of 2019, before enrolling at LSU last January.

We'll have to see how this plays out, but no doubt this would be a big blow to LSU to lose a talent such as Gilbert.