Much like the NFL Draft, college football recruiting can be a total crapshoot. In the NFL Draft, a top selection in the draft can totally fail. When it comes to recruiting, a five-star prospect doesn’t always mean success. Just look at Jonathan Gray who was the fifth-highest rated recruit in UT history according to 247Sports. He never lived up to the hype of being the next great running back to come out of Austin.
ESPN put together their most hyped prospect for the Texas Longhorns recently. With so many choices, they went a different route and chose a quarterback. According to Tom VanHaaren, that player was former Lake Travis quarterback Garrett Gilbert.
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Gilbert came out of Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, which has produced a lot of great quarterbacks. He was the No. 11 recruit overall in the 2009 class and the No. 2 quarterback.
He threw an incredible 138 touchdowns in high school with 12,540 passing yards. That success didn’t translate over to Texas, though, as he went 5-7 as the starter in his second season, throwing 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He eventually transferred to SMU.
Gilbert threw for 3,528 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at SMU, finishing his career on a high note before moving on to the NFL.
After coming into the BCS National Championship game against Alabama as a freshman, many thought he would lead the Longhorns into the next decade. After a disappointing season in 2010, Gilbert would transfer to SMU in 2011. In an interview with Judy Battista of NFL.com, the former Longhorn detailed one reason why he left the Longhorns.
Hearing boos again, not really being able to shake that, at that point I kind of knew it might be time to start over and wipe the slate clean. It’s tough to sum up quickly. For whatever reason, things didn’t work out. I think that led to some forcing the ball, trying to force things to happen. Maybe I read the papers a little too much, as well. – Gilbert to Battista