Arik Gilbert is expected to play a big role for the Georgia this year and so far, offensive coordinator Todd Monken said the former five-star is progressing just fine.

“Well, I think he’s adapted well,” Monken said during a Thursday Zoom session with reporters. “He’s a special talent, because he’s in the Brock Bowers mold in that he’s athletic enough to play receiver, but big enough to do some things on the interior. 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.”

It’s easy to see why coaches and teammates alike are excited about his prospects after Gilbert caught 35 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns last year for LSU.

“He’s a playmaker—a guy who you need to get the ball in his hands. He’s worked out with the wide receiver group; that’s where he indicated he wanted to work and train. That’s been a big part of what he wants to do,” head coach Kirby Smart said during SEC Media Days. “We’ve got to find out if he can sustain, if he’s got the stamina at that position to play that position, to play the X, to play the Z, play the slot. We’ll find ways to move him around. When you have a coordinator like Coach Monken, that’s what he does.

“When you’re in the NFL, you’ve got guys all over. You’ve got Mike Evans over here, you’ve got people you’ve got to move around. We know Arik Gilbert is going to be a big part of that.”

Quarterback JT Daniels agreed.

“He fits right in,” Daniels said back in Hoover. “He spends a lot of time with Coach (Cortez) Hankton and Coach (Todd) Hartley. He learns stuff fast. This is a difficult offense, but he takes the time to learn it. He gets it. I don’t even need to speak about his talent—that’s obvious. But on the mental side of the game, he’s phenomenal.”

The physical, Smart said, is not bad either.

“With Arik, anytime you can get a skilled player that can do things with the ball, you’re always looking to be dynamic,” Smart said. “You look at teams that have won the national championship recently, they’re most dynamic on offense and the skill positions.”