Neville Gallimore is a Dallas Cowboy

Neville Gallimore is from Canada, but now he’ll play for America’s Team.

Gallimore, Oklahoma’s All-Big 12 nose guard from Ottawa, Ontario, was the 82nd pick in Friday’s NFL Draft and will begin his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Gallimore was the 18th pick of the third round.

In Dallas, he’ll be reunited with fellow rookie and first-round pick CeeDee Lamb.

He'll also get to play alongside Gerald McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle with Tampa Bay and the Sooners' last two-time All-American on defense. McCoy signed a free agent contract with the Cowboys just last month.

Also this offseason, the Cowboys signed former Sooner quarterback and tight end Blake Bell, who was a senior at OU in 2014 while Gallimore was being recruited.

Gallimore will likely back up McCoy and Dontari Poe, who played with McCoy in Carolina last year and signed last month as a free agent. Gallimore probably will be in the regular rotation as a quick, penetrating, run-stopping down lineman.

2019 starter Maliek Collins left for the Raiders via free agency. Antwaun Woods is another defensive tackle on the Dallas roster. He is a restricted free agent and is widely believed will return to the team. Also, 34-year-old Michael Bennett is a free agent but hasn’t had any offers. Second-year player Trysten Hill, a second-round draft pick last year, is back as well.

Gallimore was an impact player for all four seasons at Oklahoma, playing in 52 games, accumulating 148 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine quarterback sacks and five forced fumbles.

The 6-foot-2, 302-pound Gallimore came to OU as the top-ranked prospect in Canada. He was the first Canadian player ever selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and chose OU from more than 30 offers, including Ohio State and Florida State.

After redshirting in 2015, he inserted himself into the rotation at defensive tackle immediately in 2016, playing in 13 games, starting six and ranked fourth on the team with four tackles for loss. He played in 12 games as a sophomore, including starts in OU’s first five games, before an injury took him out of two games. And in 2018, Gallimore earned honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades and was one of fie finalist for the Jon Cornish Trophy, which goes to the top Canadian in NCAA football. He played in 13 games (all starts) and logged a career-high 50 tackles with five tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.

As good as Gallimore was in 2018, his real breakout season came last year when, in his only year playing in Alex Grinch’s system, Gallimore was allowed to penetrate and attack. He showed off his quick feet and strong upper body and collected 30 tackles with a career-high 7.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks.

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