ROYAL PALM BEACH – Avrian Gilbert made it very clear where he wants to be at for the next few years.
The Royal Palm Beach graduate took as much time as possible to decide on a college home and ultimately desired to stay close to home.
Gilbert is headed to Keiser, a fledging NAIA program that had the winningest record (9-1) out of all colleges and universities in the state of Florida. He made that officially yesterday (July 21).
“Pretty much it was on me,” Gilbert said. “Since Keiser is in paradise and paradise is my home, that family environment really triggered me and motivated that choice to disband 14+ schools for this up and coming homegrown program.”
Avrian Gilbert will be playing college ball at Keiser this fall season with his older brother, junior defensive lineman Treykevian Gilbert. In a lot of ways, it is akin to a full circle moment, given the fact that Treykevian is more like a role model to him.
“Well he showed me the way,” the Mississippi native said of his older brother and fellow Royal Palm Beach alum Treykevian. “He showed me how to grind and told me not to make the same mistakes he did. He also tried his best to keep me from the bad crowd, even when we came from a place where bad crowds are everywhere. One thing he tried to master was teaching me how to be a man with a single mom. It was hard for us. We’re really all we got.”
Avrian, who finished his senior season at Royal Palm Beach with 78 total tackles (18 TFL’s), 4 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles in 10 games played, also made it clear that his decision had nothing to do with Treykevian.
“I was debating on that part, like do I want to go to a school and be looked at like my brother?” Avrian questioned to himself. “So literally while I was at work, I texted Coach [Mike] Ridings and told him I don’t want to be looked at as my brother’s successor. I want to be looked at for me, to make a name for myself.”
Avrian will be home until next weekend, when he will be reporting to training camp at Keiser.
“Well Coach Ridings told me we start training on August 3,” Avrian said. “The financial aid office told me classes start on August 31, so between that time I’m officially at camp. I’m ready to go.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Keiser Football
