Garrett Gilbert

Garrett Gilbert (born July 1991) is an American football quarterback for SMU. He previously attended and played football at the University of Texas at Austin. Gilbert was regarded as one of the best high school quarterbacks of his class and was named the 2008 Offensive Player of the Year by USA Today.

The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert, he attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, where he broke the state record for most passing yards in a season with 4,827 yards during his junior season. The record was previously held by Graham Harrell. Gilbert again broke the same record his senior season, after compiling 4,851 passing yards. He finished his high school career with 12,537 passing yards, another state record which was previously held by Harrell.

High school career
Gilbert made his first high school start his sophomore year in the 2006 Texas Football Classic, where he led the Cavaliers to a 41-34 victory over Texas City. His performance caused Texas gridiron sportswriters to take notice, including Lone Star Gridiron's Chris Doelle who referred to Gilbert as "the best high school quarterback I have seen EVER."

Gilbert guided Lake Travis to the 2007 Texas UIL Class 4A Division II State Championship. Upon completing the 2007 season, he broke state records for completions (359), pass attempts (555) and yards (4,827).

After Lake Travis won the 2007 championship, the team's head coach, Jeff Dicus, resigned to take the head coaching position at Class 5A Duncanville High School. Chad Morris, then the head coach at Stephenville High School, became the new coach. Prior to his senior season, Gilbert learned Morris' offense.

On top of the coaching change, Gilbert had to undergo minor shoulder surgery, which took five months to recover. Gilbert was not able to lift weights during the five-month period, and instead performed rehabilitation exercises. Gilbert recovered in time to play the first game of the 2008 season.

In the 2008 season, Gilbert led Lake Travis to a perfect 16–0 record and its second straight state title. He finished the season with 4,851 passing yards for 55 touchdowns.

Gilbert completed his high school career setting a state record of 12,534 passing yards, breaking the previous mark set by Graham Harrell by 2 yards. Gilbert initially was indifferent to breaking the record when he had the chance during the 2008 state title game; he only did so after his coach insisted to. Gilbert finished second to Harrell for career touchdowns, completions and attempts. He led his Cavaliers to a 39–4 combined record as a starter from his sophomore through senior seasons.

Football events
Gilbert participated in ESPN RISE's 10th anniversary Elite 11 quarterback event from July 21–24. He was one of the 11 high school quarterbacks selected out of a pool of more than a thousand. The Elite 11 played against each other and received coaching from current standout college quarterbacks. An ESPN columnist pointed out that Gilbert was the most likely player from the camp to win the college football national championship.

Along with 79 other high school seniors, Gilbert played in the 2009 Under Armour All-American Bowl on January 4, 2009. In the nationally-televised matchup, Gilbert completed 11-of-22 passes for 161 yards and an interception as he guided the Black team in its 27–16 loss to the White team.

In January 2009, a Scouts Inc. reporter predicted Gilbert will win the Heisman Trophy before his collegiate senior season.

College recruitment
Gilbert verbally committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns on February 7, 2008, the day after he received the offer in the mail. Gilbert always had aspirations to play for Texas since he was a child. During his youth, he pretended to play football for the Longhorns, passing the football to himself in his living room and diving onto the couch to catch it. When he was eight, he had the chance to play catch with then-UT quarterback Major Applewhite, whom he considered his idol growing up. His family members were also season ticket-holders.

Gilbert was rated as a five-star prospect by Rivals.com. Alongside Matt Barkley of Mater Dei High School in California, Gilbert is the premier quarterback prospect of the class of 2009. Former college head coach Jackie Sherrill called Gilbert the best quarterback he has seen since Dan Marino.

Awards and honors

 * 2007, 2008 Austin American-Statesman Player of the Year (became the first player to win the honor outright twice)
 * 2008 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award; became the first Texas player to receive the honor.
 * 2008 Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 4A all-state team
 * 2008 Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 4A Player of the Year
 * 2008 USA Today Offensive Player of the Year
 * 2009 PARADE All-American and Player of the Year
 * 2008 EA Sports Mr. Football USA
 * 2008 Built Ford Tough Class 4A Texas High School Player of the Year
 * 2008–09 MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year
 * 2009 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year

2009 season


It was at first thought that Gilbert would likely redshirt in 2009 and compete for the starting job in 2010. However, since former backup quarterback John Chiles was moved to wide receiver, Gilbert competed with Sherrod Harris for the backup job during the offseason. On August 23, 2009, Gilbert became the second-string quarterback as a true freshman, in front of junior Sherrod Harris.

In the 2009 season opener against Louisiana-Monroe, Gilbert lined up behind center during the fourth quarter and drove the Longhorns down the field, making 4-of-5 passes for 46 yards, before scoring a twelve-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback draw play to end the drive.

On January 7, 2010, in the BCS National Championship Game, Gilbert replaced the injured Colt McCoy. Gilbert completed 15-of-40 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. One analyst took the position that his stat line did not reflect how well he actually played (even though he was responsible for five turnovers - the four interceptions and a lost fumble), and that several of his passes that should have been caught were dropped. Gilbert led the Longhorns to two scoring drives in the second half to spark a comeback, bringing the score to 21-24 Alabama. However, the comeback ultimately fell short late in the game with a turnover inside the Texas 5-yard line. The Longhorns lost the game 37-21.

2010 season
Starting quarterback during 2010 season. He led the team to a 5-7 record, Texas' first losing season since 1997. Soon after that year's bowl season, Mack Brown announced that every job was up for grabs, leaving Gilbert to compete with sophomores Case McCoy and Conner Wood, as well as freshman David Ash.

2011 season
On August 29, it was announced that Gilbert would retain the starting position in the season opener against Rice. However, on September 12, it was announced that Gilbert was being moved to the second string quarterback behind Case McCoy and David Ash (sharing starting job). On September 20, it was announced that Gilbert underwent successful surgery on his shoulder and will be out the remainder of the season.

Gilbert was granted his unconditional release from Texas on October 5, allowing him the opportunity to seek a transfer. Later that day, he was seen at Southern Methodist University, watching the football team practice. He completed his degree at Texas and transferred to SMU for the 2012 season.

2012 season
Gilbert won the starting job at SMU, where he ran June Jones's run-and-shoot offense. He began the season with an inconsistent performance at Baylor, throwing two interceptions in a loss.

As the season progressed, Gilbert gained confidence, tossing 4 touchdowns against the University of Houston en route to a 72-42 win, a game which set the SMU record for points in a game. He had his best game of the season the following week against Memphis, throwing for 353 yards, with 1 TD in the air and another 2 on the ground.

Personal
Gilbert is the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert.

Gilbert was born in Buffalo, New York, where his father played for the Bills. He moved to San Diego, California at age three, when Gale signed with the Chargers. They moved to Austin in 1996. Garrett has one brother, Griffin, who plays football at Texas Christian University.