True freshman tight end Arik Gilbert is considering leaving the LSU football program after reportedly feeling homesick.
Gilbert’s teammates said Tuesday that they hope the team’s leading receiver opts to stay with the Tigers but can understand why he’s mulling a departure.
“I’m sure a lot of people can relate,” LSU center Liam Shanahan said, “Just going to college for the first time being away from home, everybody gets a little homesick. But especially this year. There’s not too much going on to kind of distract you from that.”
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LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg echoed Shanahan Tuesday and with a tweet he sent out Monday night that he said was unrelated to Gilbert’s situation specifically.
“When you get away from football, outside of maybe video games or staying in your dorm or your apartment, you’re told you shouldn’t really go anywhere because you don’t want to be selfish and expose the team to coronavirus,” Von Rosenberg said. ”That’s an issue and I know a lot of guys aren’t doing stuff because of that…
“… A lot of teams are going through that but a lot of teams, in the case of Florida, (Texas) A&M, whatever, they are having a hell of a season. They are doing well, one loss, Alabama’s undefeated. When you’re winning, it kind of hides the fact that things are so different.”
Von Rosenberg said that could be particularly harder to deal with since the Tigers have such a young team.
“They got pitched a dream last year when they went on recruiting visits and told certain things like ‘It’s going to be this way. It’s going to be that way.’ but all of that came to an abrupt halt when we had a pandemic occur,” he said. “And I get it, that’s everywhere. But add on that you have to follow up the greatest college football season in history, and some of the greatest players we’ve ever had come through LSU on the team, and they’re all stars in the NFL now and it’s kind of like it’s different now. It’s not the same atmosphere.”
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Shanahan who is in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from Harvard said he personally understood exactly why Gilbert might consider transfering.
“When I was coming out of high school, I went to college 30 minutes from my house and that was something that I did intentionally because I knew that I wanted to be close to home,” he said, “So I understand why he feels the way that he does I just hope that he’ll be able to stick with it because I personally feel like, if you get through that homesickness, it makes you tougher and helps you grow as a person.”
Shanahan said he hoped to get a chance to speak with Gilbert soon and let him know that he and his teammates are here for the freshman who’s caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns this season.
“We’re all here for him,” Shanhan said. “I’m here for him. I want to talk to him and try to make him feel a little better. But it is a tough year, 2020, taking that step for him, moving away from home and obviously, the season hasn’t gone as we would have hoped. But hopefully he’ll be alright.”