Texas Football: Ranking every starting quarterback from the last decade

Maybe the most disappointing starting quarterback in the entire history of the Texas football program is the former highly touted five-star in-state recruit Gilbert.

Getting tossed into the fire right away obviously didn’t benefit the mindset and development of Gilbert. Throwing him into the fire right as the Alabama program was building a dynasty in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s could easily get in the head of a true freshman quarterback like Gilbert. Put yourself in his shoes in that situation.

Coming into the 2010 season with a lot of hype and pressure on his shoulders under former head coach Mack Brown, Gilbert wound up tossing 10 touchdowns and 17 picks. Texas missed bowl eligibility that season after coming in the preseason with a No. 5 ranking in the AP Poll.

It took Gilbert a long while to get his footing in college. He didn’t have a single season where he totaled more passing touchdowns than interceptions until his redshirt senior season at SMU. He finished up his Texas career with 3,301 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and a whopping 23 picks. His passer efficiency rating was the worst on this list for the Longhorns, by a good margin (107.7).

Gilbert did finally find success in 2013, as the starting SMU signal caller. He racked up more than 3,700 total yards and 27 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions.

This year was a weird one for Gilbert, but in a good way. He won the MVP honors (as voted by the fans on social media) for the Alliance of American Football, playing for the Orlando Apollos. Gilbert then signed a contract to be the backup quarterback with the Cleveland Browns.