Nebraska TE Arik Gilbert arrested on burglary charges for 2nd time in 3 weeks
For the second time in three weeks, Nebraska tight end Arik Gilbert has been arrested on burglary charges.
The more recent charges came in an arrest on Friday, when Gilbert was booked on counts of smash-and-grab burglary and obstruction of officers in Lumpkin County, Georgia. Further details on the incident that led to the arrest of Gilbert, a Georgia native, are not yet known.
Gilbert was previously arrested on a felony burglary charge in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Aug. 29. In that incident, he was alleged to have burglarized a liquor and vape shop, with surveillance video showing a man breaking into the store by kicking down the doors then getting confronted by police on his way out.
Lincoln police allege Gilbert attempted to steal more than $1,600 worth of merchandise, including cigars and vape pens.
Nebraska TE Arik Gilbert burglary and subsequent arrest footage 😬 pic.twitter.com/UnijVTw6AI
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 30, 2023
Later that day, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule alluded to "issues" and "struggles" Gilbert had been dealing with:
“Obviously really disappointed, really sad for him. When we took Arik, we thought we knew that we had a good group of people that were going to help him through some of the issues that he’s dealing with in his life. I’d been really proud of the job he’d done this spring and summer. To be honest, during camp, he’s had some struggles. He’s working to overcome them. We have a great group of people trying to help him, and then obviously last night happened."
The pair of arrests put Gilbert's football future into question, amid a career that could have already been described as tumultuous. A top-10 recruit in the Class of 2020 according to Rivals, Gilbert began his college career at LSU, where he posted 35 catches for 365 yards and two touchdowns in eight games his freshman year before missing the final third of the season with an injury.
After opting out of the remainder of the 2020 season, Gilbert transferred to Georgia and ended up sitting out the entire 2021 season due to personal issues. He played three games in Georgia's second national championship season, posting two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown, but then transferred to Nebraska at the end of the season.
Gilbert required a waiver from the NCAA to become immediately eligible for the Huskers due to his second transfer and was still waiting for a decision at the time of his first arrest. Obviously, he now has much bigger things to worry about.
