GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Amid making finishing touches to his top-ranked NCAA Transfer Portal class, LSU football coach Brian Kelly continues to build a top five recruiting class for 2026 that would follow the No. 10 class of 2025.
Kelly has gained a commitment from No. 7-ranked cornerback Havon Finney of Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, California, near Los Angeles. Finney (6-foot-2, 170 pounds) is a four-star prospect and the No. 54 overall player in the nation, according to 247sports.com’s composite rankings, and the No. 10 player in talent-rich California. He is the first cornerback of LSU’s 10 commitments in the class that is ranked No. 4 by 247sports.
Finney pledged to LSU over USC, Arizona, BYU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon and Tennessee, among others.
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Meanwhile, a notorious former five-star prospect from LSU’s 2020 signing class has resurfaced at Division II Savannah State. Remember tight end Arik Gilbert? He signed with LSU on the heels of its 2019 national championship as the No. 10 overall prospect in the country, No. 1 tight end, and No. 2 player in Georgia out of Marietta High in Marietta, Georgia.
Gilbert (6-foot-5, 275 pounds) was much hyped as he caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns in eight games in the ’20 COVID season. He caught four for 37 yards and a 31-yard touchdown in the Tigers’ 44-34 season-opening loss to Mississippi State and led the Tigers with four catches for 43 yards in a 41-7 win over Vanderbilt.
In a 45-41 loss to Missouri, he caught another six passes for 97 yards and a 25-yard touchdown. He caught 16 more passes for 162 yards over LSU’s next four games. But after catching five passes for 29 yards in a 55-17 loss to No. 1 Alabama that dropped the Tigers to 3-5, Gilbert opted out of the rest of the season with three games to play.
ARIK GILBERT MISSED LSU’S WIN AT FLORIDA BEHIND TIGHT END KOLE TAYLOR’S SHOE
He missed LSU’s final two games of the season, and freshman quarterback Max Johnson and the rest of the offense did not miss him. The Tigers upset No. 6 Florida, 37-34, on the road on a 57-yard field goal in the fog by Cade York with 23 seconds to play that kept the Gators out of the playoffs. Gilbert’s backup, freshman Kole Taylor of Grand Junction, Colorado, had a major role in the win.
Taylor caught a 4-yard pass and was tackled six yards short of the first down with under two minutes to play, and the score tied 34-34. LSU would be punting from its 29, and Florida would have a chance to win the game. But Taylor’s shoe slipped off on the play. Florida cornerback Marco Battle picked it up and tossed it 20 yards in celebration. And that drew a 15-yard penalty that gave LSU a first down at its 44 with 1:24 left. And the Tigers drove to the winning field goal.
LSU won the next week, 53-48, over Ole Miss to finish 5-5. Johnson threw for 674 yards in his first two collegiate starts and beat out Myles Brennan to be the starter in 2021.
While immensely talented, Gilbert was a constant disciplinary problem with behavioral issues for coach Ed Orgeron and his staff in 2020. He planned to transfer to Florida, but that did not pan out. He ended up at Georgia in the 2022 season, but made only two catches. And coach Kirby Smart dealt with the same Gilbert issues as Orgeron. He moved on again to Nebraska, but did not play in 2023.
Now, he is at Division II Savannah State in Savannah, Georgia, closer to home, and just went through spring practice.
His latest rankings as a portal player by 247sports have him as the No. 1,185 overall prospect and No. 60 tight end. Perhaps he could end up being drafted in 2026 at age 24.
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