Marietta High School opened up their football season versus Rome in the Corky Kell Classic last Thursday night, winning impressively over the Wolves 48-14. The Blue Devils’ senior tight end Arik Gilbert had a big night with 9 catches for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns, including this stellar one-handed TD grab.

The nation’s No. 1 TE @arik_gilbert is UNREAL!😳

(Via @MattDeBary ) pic.twitter.com/o3BzZzwone

— MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) August 23, 2019

Gilbert is one of the top prospects in the 2020 recruiting class. 247Sports rates the 6-foot-5 and 253 lbs athlete a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 TE, the No. 2 player from the state of Georgia, and the No. 10 overall recruit nationally. Rivals also rates Gilbert a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 TE. In fact, the only difference between the two recruiting services when it comes to Gilbert is Rivals has him one spot lower nationally overall at No. 11.

Is Georgia still the leader for Arik Gilbert?

Just six weeks ago if you had asked most recruiting experts, they would say Georgia stood a good chance of getting a commitment from Arik Gilbert and possibly one other like Cam Large, Theo Johnson or Darnell Washington, but fast forward to the middle of August and that has changed. Although 247Sports still has Gilbert at 82% to the Bulldawgs per their 11 crystal ball predictions, it seems the Marietta High School senior is tempted to be recruited as a WR instead of a TE. At least that is a pitch that some programs like Clemson and Tennessee are trying to sell Gilbert. That doesn’t mean that Georgia is out of the picture. Far from it. There is still a very good chance he still lands in Athens, but suffice it to say, his recruitment is wide open and the Bulldawgs have a lot of competition.

Gilbert is set to take an official visit to UGA during the weekend when the Bulldawgs host Notre Dame on September 21st, and suffice it to say, that will be a big visit with a lot of other big-time recruiting prospects in town. While I don’t think it will make or break Gilbert’s recruitment for Georgia, I think it will play a big role.

You can check out Arik Gilbert’s highlights by clicking on the below videos.