A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile an oft-injured player who, if healthy, should be one of Maryland's key offensive linemen.
Justin Gilbert, Senior (RS), Offensive Tackle, #75
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 300
Major: Criminal Justice
Twitter: Couldn't find one.
Collegiate Stats: 18 games, six starts
High School Stats (Senior Year): 22 tackles, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble
Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by ESPN (#68 OG), two stars by Rivals, Scout (#120 OT)
High School: Monacan
Hometown: Richmond, Va.
High School Highlights:
None that we could find.
How'd He Get to College Park?
Justin Gilbert played offensive and defensive tackle for Monacan, finishing up his career as a team captain for the Chiefs. He was named All-Met as a senior on the offensive line, and second-team All-Metro and All-District on both offensive and defensive lines as a junior. Like so many other linemen, he did shotput and discus for four years as well.
Gilbert was offered by Virginia Tech, East Carolina, Army and Marshall, but ultimately chose the Terps and offensive line coach Tom Brattan. Gilbert was also recruited by Clemson and current Maryland running backs coach/special teams coordinator Andre Powell, but was not offered a scholarship there. He has, uh, matured since high school:
As a sophomore in high school, he was 6’2″ and weighed 215 pounds. A timely growth spurt ended up with him as a 6’6″, 280 pound senior with the quickness of a smaller lineman. Gilbert was Monacan’s first-ever straight to Division I player. 2009 safety Garett Patterson followed suit, going to Duke.
Gilbert redshirted his first year on campus, and played in eleven games as a freshman as a backup left tackle and on special teams. As a sophomore in 2010, he had a very impressive first three games of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the West Virginia game.
That knee injury proved to be a problem last season as well, as he missed the first eight games after being projected to start at left tackle for the Terps. Gilbert then played the last four games of the season, starting three at right guard.
Nickname:
"Big Justin" Gilbert. I wasn't kidding. I have no idea how give nicknames to linemen.
Career Highlight:
Being named the starting left tackle the past two seasons.
Career Lowlight:
The recurring injuries that have prevented that from becoming a consistent reality.
Dream Season:
Gilbert has a healthy season for the first time since 2009, holding down a starting job at tackle for his last year at Maryland.
Nightmare Season:
We're not going to even go there.
2012 Prospectus:
Because of his injury, Justin Gilbert is not listed on the spring depth chart. As someone who has played (and started at) both guard and tackle in his Maryland career, he's in the unique position of playing almost anywhere along the line to provide necessary depth.
Removing Gilbert from the equation, at tackle there is Nick Klemm, Ryan Doyle, Andrew Zeller, Jake Wheeler, and Mike Madaras. A good amount of talent, but a whole lot of youth. At guard, there is Pete White, Josh Cary, (possibly) Bennett Fulper, De'Onte Arnett, Gary Harraka, and Nick Brigham. So the obvious choice seems to be tackle, but where?
Not to bury the lead, but guess what? We have an answer! right tackle! It even says it at the end of the intro to his UMTerps profile, "emerged from the spring No. 1 on the depth chart at right tackle." Mystery solved.
Up Next:
Our next player also played lacrosse in high school, and scored 80 goals in a single season. I know nothing about lacrosse, but I assume that's a lot. Also, the city he's from has just six sentences on its Wikipedia page.
Dirty_Terps continues to inch up the board.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 8
kbuts151 - 6
Dirty_Terps - 5
ClickClack62 -2
bubbasparks - 2
T Free - 1
Terpsfinish - 1
Mdak06 - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
Terpsonfire - 1
Everybody else - 0