Garrett Gilbert – Path To The NFL Draft

As the NFL Draft approached all of the intrigue surrounding it revolved mainly around the quarterback position. Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles garnered all of the attention and rightfully so, but there were other names too, like former Texas and SMU product Garrett Gilbert. The former five-star quarterback from Lake Travis High School was thought to be a probable first-round draft pick, considering he was heading to a University that had just produced the likes of Vince Young and Colt McCoy. Things can change and even take a turn for the worse as we have seen with several highly-rated quarterbacks coming out of high school. Garrett’s time at Texas was brief and after two seasons he transferred to SMU where he worked with Head Coach June Jones, who is considered a great developer of quarterbacks. As the draft approached I rated my top QBs and profiled Gilbert as one of the surprises at the position. Here’s my review:

May, 4, 2014: Here’s my sleeper QB! As a five-star quarterback coming out of Lake Travis in Austin, Gilbert got roasted by the burnt orange fans. I’ve always felt he was thrown under the bus too quickly by Texas Coach Mack Brown and the Longhorn faithful. Let’s remember, Coach Brown and his staff do not have great history of developing quarterbacks. If you say look at Vince Young and Colt McCoy, please stop reading this article because you’ve lost me. Back to Gilbert, I like the kid. He has bounced back nicely from his persecution at Texas to perform admirably for Coach June Jones at SMU. He had a great pro day, displaying a prototypical NFL arm and also tested well in the agility drills. He has the great size, arm strength, timing, mobility, the pedigree (his father played QB in the NFL) and toughness to continue on his upward ascent. If he lands in the right situation to where he is given a year or two to bloom, he could end up a major steal. Projection: 4th to 7th Round Pick

I spoke with Gilbert after he was selected by the St. Louis Rams in round six of the NFL Draft. We discussed his time at Texas, his chance to develop under June Jones, his father’s influence and what lies ahead.