This week, Rutgers football offered Dahkari Gilley, a talented defensive back who has a film that really pops.
Gilley, at 6-foot-2 and 190-pounds, is a prototypical Big Ten safety. The class of 2024 recruit is a bit under-the-radar, having played last season at University Christian (Jacksonville, FL), In addition to Rutgers, Gilley also holds a Power Five offer from Pittsburgh.
He had 69 total tackles last year. He also had 24.5 tackles for a loss with four sacks and an interception.
The offer came this week after a visit from Joe Harasymiak, the Rutgers defensive coordinator.
“I saw coach Joe followed me on Twitter and then my coach told me they were coming to watch me practice,” Gilley told Rutgers Wire.
“And coach was watching me run track and after track, I went to football and after practice I was working out with my strength and conditioning coach. And after that, it was just history.”
Harasymiak is in his second season with Rutgers as their defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he was the defensive coordinator at Minnesota.
[lawrence-related id=26750,26739]
As for Gilley, he said that he will be taking an official visit to Rutgers football from June 9-11. He also plans to visit Central Florida at some point.
[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]
https://t.co/rYrQ5UnIGT https://t.co/rYrQ5UnIGT
— Dahkari ‘‘Dk’’ Gilley (@Dkgilley_) January 28, 2023
The offer from the Scarlet Knights stood out to Gilley, not just for the pitch about how he can contribute on the field but also the direction in terms of the culture around the program.
“I feel like they are bigger than just football, they’re a family,” Gilley said.
“They not only want you to be a great football player but they also want you to be a great person off the field. The coaches really care about you outside of football and want to build a relationship with you.”
The player he models his game after is New York Jets cornerback Ahmad Gardner.
Gilley said his goal is to make the NFL and that he won’t be “satisfied until I get my mom the boat she wants.”
“I’ve been always taught to work hard, go 100 percent, leave no regrets,” Gilley said.
“And I want my mom to be retired to she doesn’t have to work anymore.”
[lawrence-related id=26719,26707]
[mm-video type=video id=01h03zg967ra5b5hnq68 playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h03zg967ra5b5hnq68/01h03zg967ra5b5hnq68-14800cd324d40d1db713a36f5b61ad00.jpg]