Garrett Gilbert Garrett Gilbert ( born July 1991 ) is an American football quarterback for SMU . He previously attended and played football at the University of Texas at Austin . Gilbert was regarded as one of the best high school quarterbacks of his class and was named the 2008 Offensive Player of the Year by " USA Today " . The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert , he attended Lake Travis High School in Austin , Texas , where he broke the state record for most passing yards in a season with 4 , 827 yards during his junior season . The record was previously held by Graham Harrell . Gilbert again broke the same record his senior season , after compiling 4 , 851 passing yards . He finished his high school career with 12 , 537 passing yards , another state record which was previously held by Harrell . High school career . Gilbert made his first high school start his sophomore year in the 2006 Texas Football Classic , where he led the Cavaliers to a 41 - 34 victory over Texas City . His performance caused Texas gridiron sportswriters to take notice , including Lone Star Gridiron ' s Chris Doelle who referred to Gilbert as " the best high school quarterback I have seen EVER . " Gilbert guided Lake Travis to the 2007 Texas UIL Class 4A Division II State Championship . Upon completing the 2007 season , he broke state records for completions ( 359 ) , pass attempts ( 555 ) and yards ( 4 , 827 ) . After Lake Travis won the 2007 championship , the team ' s head coach , Jeff Dicus , resigned to take the head coaching position at Class 5A Duncanville High School . Chad Morris , then the head coach at Stephenville High School , became the new coach . Prior to his senior season , Gilbert learned Morris ' offense . On top of the coaching change , Gilbert had to undergo minor shoulder surgery , which took five months to recover . Gilbert was not able to lift weights during the five - month period , and instead performed rehabilitation exercises . Gilbert recovered in time to play the first game of the 2008 season . In the 2008 season , Gilbert led Lake Travis to a perfect 16 – 0 record and its second straight state title . He finished the season with 4 , 851 passing yards for 55 touchdowns . Gilbert completed his high school career setting a state record of 12 , 534 passing yards , breaking the previous mark set by Graham Harrell by 2 yards . Gilbert initially was indifferent to breaking the record when he had the chance during the 2008 state title game ; he only did so after his coach insisted to . Gilbert finished second to Harrell for career touchdowns , completions and attempts . He led his Cavaliers to a 39 – 4 combined record as a starter from his sophomore through senior seasons . Football events . Gilbert participated in ESPN RISE ' s 10th anniversary Elite 11 quarterback event from July 21 – 24 . He was one of the 11 high school quarterbacks selected out of a pool of more than a thousand . The Elite 11 played against each other and received coaching from current standout college quarterbacks . An ESPN columnist pointed out that Gilbert was the most likely player from the camp to win the college football national championship . Along with 79 other high school seniors , Gilbert played in the 2009 Under Armour All - American Bowl on January 4 , 2009 . In the nationally - televised matchup , Gilbert completed 11 - of - 22 passes for 161 yards and an interception as he guided the Black team in its 27 – 16 loss to the White team . In January 2009 , a Scouts Inc . reporter predicted Gilbert will win the Heisman Trophy before his collegiate senior season . College recruitment . Gilbert verbally committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns on February 7 , 2008 , the day after he received the offer in the mail . Gilbert always had aspirations to play for Texas since he was a child . During his youth , he pretended to play football for the Longhorns , passing the football to himself in his living room and diving onto the couch to catch it . When he was eight , he had the chance to play catch with then - UT quarterback Major Applewhite , whom he considered his idol growing up . His family members were also season ticket - holders . Gilbert was rated as a five - star prospect by " Rivals . com " . Alongside Matt Barkley of Mater Dei High School in California , Gilbert is the premier quarterback prospect of the class of 2009 . Former college head coach Jackie Sherrill called Gilbert the best quarterback he has seen since Dan Marino . College career . 2009 season . It was at first thought that Gilbert would likely redshirt in 2009 and compete for the starting job in 2010 . However , since former backup quarterback John Chiles was moved to wide receiver , Gilbert competed with Sherrod Harris for the backup job during the offseason . On August 23 , 2009 , Gilbert became the second - string quarterback as a true freshman , in front of junior Sherrod Harris . In the 2009 season opener against Louisiana - Monroe , Gilbert lined up behind center during the fourth quarter and drove the Longhorns down the field , making 4 - of - 5 passes for 46 yards , before scoring a twelve - yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback draw play to end the drive . On January 7 , 2010 , in the BCS National Championship Game , Gilbert replaced the injured Colt McCoy . Gilbert completed 15 - of - 40 passes for 186 yards , two touchdowns , and four interceptions . One analyst took the position that his stat line did not reflect how well he actually played ( even though he was responsible for five turnovers - the four interceptions and a lost fumble ) , and that several of his passes that should have been caught were dropped . Gilbert led the Longhorns to two scoring drives in the second half to spark a comeback , bringing the score to 21 - 24 Alabama . However , the comeback ultimately fell short late in the game with a turnover inside the Texas 5 - yard line . The Longhorns lost the game 37 - 21 . 2010 season . Starting quarterback during 2010 season . He led the team to a 5 - 7 record , Texas ' first losing season since 1997 . Soon after that year ' s bowl season , Mack Brown announced that every job was up for grabs , leaving Gilbert to compete with sophomores Case McCoy and Conner Wood , as well as freshman David Ash . 2011 season . On August 29 , it was announced that Gilbert would retain the starting position in the season opener against Rice . However , on September 12 , it was announced that Gilbert was being moved to the second string quarterback behind Case McCoy and David Ash ( sharing starting job ) . On September 20 , it was announced that Gilbert underwent successful surgery on his shoulder and will be out the remainder of the season . Gilbert was granted his unconditional release from Texas on October 5 , allowing him the opportunity to seek a transfer . Later that day , he was seen at Southern Methodist University , watching the football team practice . He completed his degree at Texas and transferred to SMU for the 2012 season . 2012 season . Gilbert won the starting job at SMU , where he ran June Jones ' s run - and - shoot offense . He began the season with an inconsistent performance at Baylor , throwing two interceptions in a loss . As the season progressed , Gilbert gained confidence , tossing 4 touchdowns against the University of Houston en route to a 72 - 42 win , a game which set the SMU record for points in a game . He had his best game of the season the following week against Memphis , throwing for 353 yards , with 1 TD in the air and another 2 on the ground . Personal . Gilbert is the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert . Gilbert was born in Buffalo , New York , where his father played for the Bills . He moved to San Diego , California at age three , when Gale signed with the Chargers . They moved to Austin in 1996 . Garrett has one brother , Griffin , who plays football at Texas Christian University .