Lake Travis High School Cavalier quarterback Garrett Gilbert is the first-ever Texas player to be named nation’s top high school gridiron performer.

In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN The Magazine, has selected Gilbert as its 2008-09 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year.
“Without question, Garrett has distinguished himself as perhaps the finest high school quarterback in the history of Texas football,” said Lake Travis ISD Superintendent Dr. Rocky Kirk. “He is equally impressive as a gentleman and role model for other students. Behind his football talent and competitive spirit lies the character of a young man that reflects humility, sincerity, integrity, and concern for others. Garrett’s parents, Gale and Kim Gilbert, have instilled in him these qualities, and in so doing, have ensured that Garrett has and will continue to honor his school, his teammates, his parents and his brother Griffin —even after he has left Lake Travis High School. Garrett exemplifies the highest ideals and virtues of sportsmanship, scholarship, and citizenship. In every sense of the word, he is a ‘champion.’”
Other recipients of the prestigious award include football greats such as Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Emmitt Smith, former Dallas Cowboy.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Gilbert as the nation’s best high school football player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped to select Gilbert from more than one million high school football players nationwide. Gilbert is now a finalist for the Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound quarterback has completed 276-of-401 passes for 4,493 yards and 51 touchdowns against just five interceptions this season for the Cavaliers (15-0) entering the Class 4A Division I finals against Longview scheduled for Dec. 20 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Longview. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. A 2009 Under Armour All-American and 2008 Elite 11 quarterback camp selection, Gilbert had also rushed for 685 yards and 21 touchdowns on 102 carries at the time of his selection.
A returning Class 4A First Team All-State selection as named by the Texas Sports Writers Association, Gilbert has completed 870-of-1,324 passes for 12,182 yards and 132 touchdowns in his career through 14 games this year. He ranks second in the state all-time (to former Ennis High and current Texas Tech senior quarterback Graham Harrell) in career passing touchdowns, and (to former Baytown Lee High and current Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Drew Tate) in passing attempts and passing completions.
The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert, Garrett has maintained a 3.78 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered extensively as part of the Lake Hills Church community’s vacation Bible school and weekly youth group, as well as for Lake Travis Pop Warner Football and the Lake Travis Youth Association.
Gilbert has verbally committed to a football scholarship at the University of Texas next fall.
“Without question, Garrett is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school football player based on his statistics on the field and the impact his play has had on Lake Travis’ success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. “But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.