Oklahoma got its big news on Saturday night.
The Sooners received a major commitment from the 104th-best player in the country and the ninth-best defensive tackle in Kelvin Gilliam of Highland Springs, Virginia.
It’s been a good recruiting year for Alex Grinch and his defensive staff. Oklahoma has won big battles against Texas (Clayton Smith), Alabama (Latrell McCutchin) and now Penn State (Kelvin Gilliam) so far in the 2021 class.
Here is what the Sooners are getting in their new four-star defensive lineman:
(Sorry for the inconvenience, we are currently working on being able to embed HUDL tapes again. Check out Gilliam’s tape here)
Gilliam is one of those defensive lineman that is more technique and fundamentally sound than he is athletic, which is a rarity when it comes to recruiting along the defensive line. He does a really good job staying in his rushing lanes as well as setting the edge when playing defensive end. Gilliam has a handful of skill moves he uses already, too. You’d like to see him with more of a mean streak, but as he continues to get stronger in a college weight program, that should come along with it. A solid prospect that raises the floor of Oklahoma’s defensive tackles.
Comp: There isn’t really a good one here, but I get a lot of LaRon Stokes Jr and Chuka Ndulue vibes. Obviously Gilliam is in a much better place as a high school senior as Stokes was coming out of junior college.
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