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Arik Gilbert has been on the receiving end of plenty of passes while playing tight end for the Marietta (Ga.) High School football team.
Tuesday, Gilbert was on the receiving end of the 2019-2020 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year Award. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan surprised Gilbert with the award at his school while he was surrounded by friends, family, teammates and coaches.
Gilbert, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior, is ranked by Rivals as the No. 1 tight end in the 2020 class and the No. 11 overall prospect. He has been selected to play in the 2020 All-American Bowl on Jan. 4 in San Antonio.
“Knowing how big of an award this is, and having my name on it, it just made me want to work even harder,” Gilbert said after the award presentation.
Gilbert, who is verbally committed to LSU, has caught 81 passes for 1,436 yards and 12 touchdowns through 13 games while leading Marietta to an 11-2 record and Georgia’s Class 7A semifinals.
Since the program’s inception in 1985, the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year has been awarded to players such as running back Emmitt Smith and quarterback Peyton Manning. Past award winners have combined for six NFL MVP awards and 30 Pro Bowl appearances, and six have gone on to become first-round NFL Draft picks.
Gilbert beat out more than one million student-athletes who play high school football nationwide. He has maintained a 3.14 GPA and helped found a campus-wide initiative called “Whisper,” which encourages students to have device-free conversations and supports diversity and inclusion.
Click here to see a short video of Ryan presenting the award to Gilbert.
