Official visit weekends tend to lay the foundation for success for college football programs. Some times the fruit of the labor put in by coaches during official visit weekends are not immediate. However, for Penn State's coaching staff, their work has already paid off with the commitment of three-star defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam.
The 6-foot-3, 250 pound Gilliam plays for Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland. While Gilliam is listed as a defensive end, he will be a defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions.
Gilliam has been a Penn State lean since the spring. In fact, there was some smoke that during the spring visit season that Gilliam could commit to the Nittany Lions. So wrapping up Gilliam's recruitment comes as no surprise, he was one of player we had pegged as a potential commit for this weekend.
Prior to making his commitment, Gilliam also had official visits scheduled for NC State, Duke, and Virginia Tech. With Gilliam committing to the Nittany Lions, those visits will no longer take place.
The Nittany Lions will be looking for a big defensive tackle class. If the right players would want to come on board, seeing Penn State take up to four defensive tackles this cycle would not be a surprise.
Gilliam hopping on board gives the Nittany Lions the first of their three or four desired defensive tackle commits. Locking up Gilliam is a strong start to defensive tackle recruiting for Penn State.
I have mentioned it before, but, in my opinion, Gilliam is a bit underrated. Gilliam is explosive off the ball, a plus athlete at defensive tackle, and plays with good leverage. The major factor holding Gilliam's rating back is his size. That said, he has more than enough size to be a disruptor on the interior of the defensive line.
Stay tuned for more about Plazz and other Penn State Football recruiting news right here on Happy Valley Insider!
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
