Getty Garrett Gilbert had a brief stint with the Carolina Panthers and is the Orlando Apollos starting quarterback.
Orlando Apollos quarterback Garrett Gilbert has played all over the country for multiple teams and in multiple leagues, including the NFL. Garrett recently played in his first NFL game, despite being on and off the Panthers roster for the past two seasons.
The Panthers picked up Garrett at the end of the regular season to add depth after Cam Newton’s injury. Garrett played in Week 17 going 2-of-3 for 40 yards. Thanks to the Alliance of American Football rules he was allowed to return to the Apollos after playing.
Gilbert was drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 214th overall pick by the Rams. Gilbert eventually landed on the Patriots practice squad where he earned a Super Bowl ring, per ESPN.
The Apollos chose Gilbert first in the “Protect of Pick” Quarterback Draft. Apollos GM Tim Ruskell noted the team liked his size and experience running SMU’s offense.
“What we liked about Garrett was he had had some experience at the pro level in multiple offenses,” Ruskell told the Orlando Sentinel. “We liked his size. We liked his arm strength. A real smart guy who could make all the throws. A guy that’s healthy and ready to go and is a good fit for Coach’s offense. The interesting thing with Garrett is we had been tracking him but he did not make himself available to our league until just a few days prior to the draft because he had been having talks and workouts with NFL teams.”
Garrett Gilbert Played College Football at Texas & SMU
Gilbert started his college career at Texas before transferring to SMU for his final two seasons. Gilbert threw for 2,744 yards, 10 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his sophomore season with the Longhorns. Gilbert’s best college football season came his senior year at SMU.
Gilbert threw for 3,528 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 66.5 percent of his passes. Gilbert failed to live up to the five-star expectations that came with him out of Lake Travis High School. Things turned out a bit better after he transferred to SMU.
June Jones coached Gilbert at SMU and believed he had pro potential.
“When we got him at SMU, he had been through hell, I guess is a good way to say it,” Jones explained to ESPN. “So helping him through that whole situation and getting him back on track to how he was as a high school player took us a while. I knew he could play in the National Football League. I tried my hardest to get him there.”
Gilbert now has a chance to showcase his abilities in the new AAF with the Apollos. Gilbert gets to run Steve Spurrier’s offense in Orlando and is hoping it can be something that helps jump-start his football career.
