Texas Longhorns Among Favorites to Land Four-Star DL
Coveted defensive end Kelvin Gilliam released a list of top 10 schools that included the Texas Longhorns.
Texas made the cut along with Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida, South Carolina, Cal, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Kentucky and LSU.
The Highland Springs High School prospect is the No. 5 weak-side defensive end, No. 4 player in the state of Virginia and No. 112 player nationally in the 2021 class according to 247Sports.
Watching his film: Gilliam has been drawing a ton of eyeballs in the past few weeks and months due to his eye-popping film. Currently a defensive end, the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder could play either outside or add bulk and move down to a three-technique in a four-down-lineman scheme like Texas runs. The Longhorns are looking for guys who can get upfield in a hurry in Chris Ash's defensive system and Gilliam is certainly one of those guys. A lot of times he's making plays from the backside that normal players just aren't capable of making. Not only does he have a quick burst that can give him the advantage in an outside pass rush situation, his first punch his plenty strong enough to push an offensive lineman back on his heels. Gilliam shows a lot of aptitude for the game for such a young age, knowing when to be patient to make plays in the run game.
Where Texas stands: Gilliam has told SI that he plans on scheduling some visits now that he's narrowed his list of schools down to 10. Of course, that won't happen until the NCAA lifts its current ban on on-campus recruiting visits currently extended through Aug. 31. Some currently see him as an Oklahoma lean thanks in part to his close relationship to fellow Washington DC area athlete Caleb Williams. Williams - the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 class - is making his verbal pledge on July 4 and many around the recruiting world consider the Sooners to be the favorite among his three finalists. Still, Gilliam clearly thinks enough of Texas to include the Longhorns in the top 10 and one has to think that could be enough to warrant a visit once such things are once again allowed in the current crazy climate of college football.
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