Tennessee has undergone a defensive transformation this offseason, sending Tim Banks packing and hiring veteran defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. His complex defense is being installed this spring, aided by some familiar faces Knowles brought along with him from Penn State. It wasn’t just coaches he brought, but a handful of players, too.
One of those players is a promising young defensive lineman, Xavier Gilliam. Tennessee has really turned its entire defensive line room over during the last two
off-seasons, putting some pressure on some young, highly-recruited names to step up and develop. Needing numbers though, Knowles was able to bring Gilliam with him from his last stop.
The early returns are turning heads in spring ball.
“It’s a guy that’s played some football and has familiarity with the scheme,” Josh Heupel said of Gilliam. “Had a really good offseason in our winter program. Then as we’ve continued to go through spring ball, I think he’s flashed more and more the deeper that we’ve gotten into it.”
The 6-2, 305 pound redshirt sophomore is a former 4-star prospect, coming out of Maryland. He emerged on the scene with the Nittany Lions last season when Knowles arrived, playing in 13 games and making two starts. Gilliam notched 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and a half sack as a redshirt freshman.
Now with names like Tyre West, Bryson Eason, Dominic Bailey and Jaxson Moi all out of eligibility, Tennessee is going to need him to step into a pretty large role this fall. According to the coaching staff and those that have observed practice, he’s off to a really nice start.
“First and second down, really good at the point of attack,” Heupel continued. “Not getting moved versus double teams. Does a good job using his hands. I’ve shown him a couple of times in our block-destruction drill that we do up front. Then you look at some of what he’s done in our pass-rush – that’s our pass-rush period, it’s also during team (periods) – he’s showcased the ability to play on an edge and affect the quarterback.”
Tennessee is going to need pass rush help with the edge spot still giving us plenty of questions. Getting some disruption from the interior out of Gilliam would be nice to have, and it sounds like there may be some versatility there if they want to move him around a bit.
Gilliam will be joined by veteran Daevin Hobbs once he returns this summer from injury. Tyree Weathersby, Nathan Robinson, Ethan Utley, Isaiah Campbell and Marion Dye will also be in the rotation. A true pecking order still isn’t clear, but we do know Gilliam will be a large part of what they do this season.
