Hookem.com confirmed this afternoon ($) that Gilbert's offer is indeed as a greyshirt, meaning he would enroll in spring of 2013 and be a member of the 2013 class.

When Inside Texas recruiting analyst Blake Munroe reported last weekend that Lake Travis TE Griffin Gilbert was in attendance for the second Texas Junior Day despite any previous confirmation from any of the recruiting services, it seemed like a relatively innocuous visit. After all, Gilbert's older brother was the starting quarterback for the Longhorns last season and it was highly probable that the younger Gilbert simply made the short drive down from Lake Travis to watch his brother practice.

Well, it turns out the visit wasn't so innocuous. A Scout.com report on Wednesday regarding Gilbert broke the news ($) that the high school wide receiver and likely future collegiate tight end/H-back had been offered by the Longhorns, a fact missed by the other services, who had either been unable to reach Gilbert to ask about an offer or had simply failed to check with him at all following JD2.

Considering that Scout has a history of reporting offers from prospects who do not actually have offers from Texas, the news was met with some skepticism from this particular writer. Thursday, both Orangebloods and Inside Texas confirmed that Gilbert has indeed been offered by the Longhorns, certainly a major surprise.

Is it a legacy offer? It's certainly possible and the thought here is that Gilbert may have been offered a greyshirt at Texas, made the more likely by the fact that Gilbert is 210 pounds and was running in the 4.8-4.9 range in the 40 last summer, certainly on the small side for a tight end or H-back. Given the developmental time that he's going to need in college, offering Gilbert only makes sense if he is allowed some of that time to develop without counting as a scholarship player in 2012, as he would not enroll until the spring semester of 2013.

On the plus side, Gilbert is legitimately 6-4 at least (he's listed at 6-5) and has the frame to eventually carry 230 or more pounds. A developmental project in college because of the need to add weight and adjust to a greater role blocking, Gilbert does bring solid hands to the table and the ability to high-point the football, a skill that makes him extremely dangerous in the red zone.

Gilbert reports offers from Texas Tech, Tulsa, and Clemson, along with his offer from Texas. It's a bit of a surprise that Gilbert did not commit upon being offered, but he has said that he plans on making a decision soon. If Gilbert has been offered as a greyshirt, it would explain why he has not committed to Texas already. He has declined to name favorites.