Miami Lands Big Time DE Transfer David Gilbert From Wisconsin

With news that Devante Bond may not make it into school, Miami went out and landed a pretty big fish in former Wisconsin DE David Gilbert.

Gilbert played very well for the Badgers last season, making 9.5 tackles and netting 4 sacks, before recurring foot issues forced him out. It was originally thought that his playing career would be over after his foot landed him an off-season surgery. However, it appears that he may have bounced back enough to get him thinking that he has one more year in him, and that year will be played at Miami.

The news was confirmed by Dan Casagrande of the Sun Sentinel:

Starting Wisconsin defensive end David Gilbert of Coral Springs will transfer to Miami and be eligibile to play right away, Sun Sentinel sources confirmed. Paperwork is still being finalized, but the decision is done.

Gilbert's college career appeared to be over due to "reoccurring injuries to his right foot," according to a Wisconsin news release from April.

With multiple scholarships from the 2013 left on the table, and a few departures from the roster, using an open spot on a player of Gilbert's caliber is a no-brainer. Sure, there's the risk because of his injury past, but if his foot is healed from the surgery, and the Miami training staff can work their magic, he could very well end up being a big steal.

Gilbert graduated in May, so he will be eligible to play immediately for Miami without any weird (read: stupid) NCAA restrictions. The only lingering question is, of course, his health. In that regard, however, I don't see this staff taking a flyer on a guy if they weren't under the impression that he could still play.

Here's what our sister site Bucky's 5th Quarter had to say about the possible transfer, prior to it being official:

So that's where we stand. The Badgers lost David Gilbert. He unretired today to go closer to home and play defensive end at Miami. He was on track to graduate in May. So it doesn't look like there's going to be an administrative question as to if he's going to play.

But this is an absolute surprise. Any comebacks would have seemed to come looking toward the 2014 NFL Draft. But when The U came calling, apparently Gilbert had to listen.

And thus ends the weird saga of Brennan Carroll's mystery tweet last Friday.

WELCOME TO THE U, DAVID!