Todd Monken Georgia Arik Gilbert

As seems to be the case with just about every player or coach that has been interviewed since the arrival of Arik Gilbert, Todd Monken had something to say about the LSU transfer.

“Well I think he’s adapted well,” Monken said. “He’s a special talent,”

Monken’s first comments aren’t all that surprising. Gilbert was the highest-rated tight end prospect in the modern history of recruiting rankings and caught 35 passes in eight games last season for LSU. At 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds, there are very few athletes like him.

The Georgia offensive coordinator though didn’t stop by just calling him a special player. He then compared to another player that is also on Georgia’s roster.

“He’s in the Brock Bowers mode in that he’s athletic enough to play receiver but big enough to do some things on the interior,” Monken said. “He’s a size match-up, he’s a run-after-catch guy. He loves to play the game. So we’re excited that he’s part of our program.”

Bowers is also in his first year at Georgia, though he had the benefit of playing and practicing with the team in the spring. He’ll actually practice regularly with the tight ends, while Gilbert is seen as a wide receiver.

Adding Gilbert and Bowers to a pass-catching group was something Kirby Smart wanted to do as to provide quarterback JT Daniels with more dynamic pass catchers. The addition of Gilbert became even more paramount following the injury to standout wide receiver George Pickens.

With players like Gilbert, Bowers, Jermaine Burton, Kearis Jackson, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and others, Monken does have a slight problem. It’s one JT Daniels referenced before as well.

There’s only one football, so how do you go about getting everyone involved, maximizing your potential on offense and keeping everyone happy?

“I would hope that we have skill guys that are selfish. I really do,” Monken said. “What skill guy would you not want to be selfish about touching the ball? That’s everything to them to showcase their skillset.

“But they do have to understand that my ultimate job is to score as many points as we can and not turn it over and win the game. And I’d love for every guy to touch it a bunch and I want you to be selfish, but ultimately I can’t worry about that as we’re game-planning.”

Monken has worked with the likes of Justin Blackmon, Mike Evans, OJ Howard and Jarvis Landry in his stop at both the collegiate and NFL levels. So he knows a thing or two about elite pass catchers.

He also pointed to Tre’ McKitty, the former Georgia tight end who has taken in the third round of this year’s NFL draft as an example of how doing things the right way can make up for a lack of production.

“At the end of the day I want you to touch it. I want you to score touchdowns,” Monken said. “I want you to be a big part of it. But let’s focus on developing your skillset and that’s going to translate to the next level. And then we’ll do everything in our power to create the best version of the offense we can for the University of Georgia.”

Saturday will be another big day for Gilbert, Monken and the entire Georgia offense as the Bulldogs hold their first scrimmage of fall camp. This will be a chance to go good-on-good and see what players like Gilbert, Tate Ratledge and Kelee Ringo can do as the Bulldogs continue to prepare for a season-opening game against the No. 2 Clemson Tigers.

Todd Monken on Arik Gilbert, spreading the ball around

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