When Garrett Gilbert’s mother, Kim, celebrates her birthday this Tuesday, her older son won’t be at the family home in Austin to celebrate with her and the rest of the family. But chances are good she’ll be able to forgive him.

The reason Gilbert won’t be there to celebrate his mother’s birthday is because he will be flying to St. Louis to join the Rams, who selected him Saturday in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert is the 10th Mustang chosen in the last six NFL Drafts (photo by SMU athletics).

“It's kind of surreal, really — it hasn't really sunk in yet,” Gilbert said Sunday. “But I'm really excited, and I'm just grateful to the St. Louis Rams organization for giving me this opportunity.”

Gilbert had worked out for four teams before the draft: the Rams, the New England Patriots, the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers. He had talked to other teams, as well, so he had little idea where he would end up playing. He watched the draft at his family’s home, and admitted that waiting until late on the third day was a less-than-enjoyable process.

“It was a long day, honestly,” he said. “I didn't really have an expectation about when I would go, or where, but sitting there all day is hard. When a team comes up that you think might take you, and then they take someone else, and when you see other quarterbacks get picked, that's a little rough.

“After a while, I got up and went in the other room and watched the Players (Championship).”

While he let his mind wander down the fairways with the golfers, Gilbert continued to check the draft on his phone, and rejoined his family in time to get the call from the Rams.

“The general manager (Les Snead) called, and then he put Coach (Jeff) Fisher on the phone,” Gilbert said. “The conversation wasn’t very long, really. He asked if I’d like to be a Ram, and I said, ‘of course. That would be awesome. It would be an honor to play for them.’

“I know Coach Fisher has been a very successful coach for a long time, so to have someone like that want me on his team … I'm really looking forward to working with him and learning from him.”

Gilbert finds himself in an unusual position with his new team. When he left high school for the University of Texas, he was the reigning national high school player of the year, and the jewel of UT’s recruiting class. When he graduated early and transferred to SMU, he took over the starting job immediately, and was one of the team’s leaders from the day he arrived in Dallas.

But when he gets to St. Louis, Gilbert will find himself at the bottom of the quarterback pecking order, looking up. Sam Bradford is the Rams’ unquestioned starter, and the roster also includes recently signed veteran journeyman Shaun Hill and holdover Austin Davis.

“That (roster) was part of it,” Gilbert said when asked if he thought the Rams might be one of the teams that could draft him. “They have Sam Bradford — obviously he's the guy — and then they signed Shaun Hill to a free agent deal. I'm very fortunate to be going somewhere that I can learn from a couple of proven veteran guys like that.”

Gilbert's brother, Griffin, grew up a fan of the Rams. Garrett Gilbert said he never really had a favorite professional team, but said he has vivid memories of watching the Rams' high-powered passing game when he was younger.

"I loved watching the 'Greatest Show On Turf,'" Gilbert said. "Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt … that's one of the greatest passing teams ever."

Gilbert has been flooded with calls and text messages from well-wishers, including from SMU head coach June Jones.

“I texted with Coach Jones, and I can’t say enough about what he has done for me,” Gilbert said. “He has been my biggest supporter through all of this. He just congratulated me and said I got picked lower than I deserved to, but I ended up in the right place.”

Gilbert heads to the right place Monday, disappointed that he’ll miss celebrating his mother’s birthday with her, but eager to start the next chapter of his life. The waiting game while watching the draft was trying, but in the end, he is grateful for the way it worked out.”

“This is been a dream of mine my whole life, and I’m really excited to start working with the Rams,” he said. “(Sunday) is Mother’s Day, and after I got picked, I got to give her a long hug.

“That might have been the best part of the whole weekend.”