Trailing the Miami Hurricanes by seven points to open its 2025 season in Hard Rock Stadium, the Notre Dame offense was looking to tie the game up on a third and goal play with halftime approaching.
Quarterback CJ Carr took the snap and chaos ensued as multiple Hurricane defenders closed in on him in the pocket.
Carr eluded the pressure and then threw a pass to sophomore receiver Micah Gilbert, who was doing his best to control the chaos unfolding, which resulted in the first Irish touchdown of the season and a tie game.
“As a receiver, a lot of plays can be made at scramble drill, so when that time comes, you just hope you and your quarterback are on the same page and make a play,” said Gilbert.
Fast forward a year later and as the Irish were again looking to add some points before the half, chaos again ensued, and Gilbert again controlled the chaos as Carr was being chased by defenders, resulting in his first touchdown of the season.
“Yeah, so we just had a play call,” said Gilbert. “You know, everything, they lined up in the coverage that took some of it away, and then it just turned into a scramble drill. Me and CJ was on the same page. I saw him roll to the right. I was able to get in phase with him, and he gave me a chance to go up and make a play on the ball, and I was able to.”
Being on the same page with Carr is a reason why Gilbert feels like he can do his part to control chaotic situations when they arise.
“Yeah, just I want to instill the trust in him every day that I can, that he can do stuff like that when it comes to game time,” said Gilbert. “So it's very important, as it is for all receivers, we instill that trust in him every day.”
Watching former Notre Dame and Virginia Cavalier and current New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields has helped Gilbert with his 50-50 catches.
“I feel it's just the way he showed his 50-50 ball ability,” said Gilbert. “So seeing him, the way he did that, it took a lot of that into my game and trying to work on that to get better.”
Fields transferred to Notre Dame prior to the 2025 season and was brought in to deepen the receiver room and give the Irish a dependable boundary receiver.
In the 2026 offseason, the Irish added former Ohio State receivers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter, the latter again to give the Irish a dependable target at the boundary.
That kind of competition is just the thing that Gilbert used to improve his game heading into 2026.
“Obviously a journey is a journey, said Gilbert. “There's going to be high moments, there's going to be low moments, but it was more so in myself, just trying to stay consistent, stay as level-headed as I can, because that thin line of just getting frustrated and all that can be rough. It was mine. We taught Coach Free, he teaches us every day constant improvement, delaying gratification, so just more so on myself to just try to get better every day and not look outward.”
Now with Fields in the NFL and Porter working back from an injury, Gilbert is the starting boundary receiver for the Irish, and as such, means he is usually working with less field space than the field and slot receivers have.
However, Gilbert welcomes the challenge and competition that playing boundary receiver entails.
“What I enjoy the most is, like most of the time, it is like you get manned a lot in the boundary, so it's a lot of competition,” said Gilbert. “It's you versus the man in front of you, which I pride myself in being a competitor, so I love just going out there every day and competing with whoever lies in front of me.”
Another challenge of playing boundary receiver is the boundary corners Gilbert has to face.
“Again, with that, you come across good players,” said Gilbert. “You've got to make adjustments mid-game based off how things go. So just being able to adapt, being able to use the skills that I've learned throughout practice and all my years here, just go out and play.”
That makes route-running especially important for Gilbert considering his position and the opponents he faces every game.
Gilbert believes for him, the most important part of route-running is the time from when his break happens to when he gets the ball.
“There's a lot of different things,” said Gilbert. “I say mine is just break point to catch point. That's probably a lot of players. Some players may not run routes the best, but some players can catch the ball. Some players run great routes. I think the break point to catch point, getting out your breaks, going to explode to the catch, going to attack the ball, whatever way you can, that's probably the most important.”
As the 2026 season moves along and college football continues to get more chaotic, Gilbert is simply controlling what he can at Notre Dame.
“I love this place, man,” said Gilbert. “I love the opportunities that it can present you. I love the athletic program we've got going on, so just trying to elevate this as much as I can.”
As the Irish prepare to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a nighttime showdown at Notre Dame Stadium, if chaos ensues, Micah Gilbert will be there to control what chaos he can.
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