Oklahoma football spotlight: Redshirt freshman DT Kelvin Gilliam

Kelvin Gilliam is a hold-over from the previous Oklahoma football regime with a high ceiling on the football field.

Typically these spotlights have been reserved for new members of the team, but Gilliam did not play enough to be a household name in Sooner nation just yet, and he will be in the rotation this year. Kelvin is a redshirt freshman. So what can we expect for the short-term future of the young and talented defensive lineman?

Who is Kelvin Gilliam

Gilliam is a redshirt freshman defensive tackle for the Oklahoma Sooners. He is currently listed at 6-foot 3-inches and 293 pounds. This is massive after he was under 250 pounds on last season’s official roster. Jerry Schmidt has sculpted the young athletic defender. He is from Richmond, Virginia, and was a consensus top 150 player and a unanimous four-star coming out of high school.

During his senior season in high school, he was named the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and the Class 5B Defensive Player of the Year. He racked up 48 tackles, including seven sacks and 17 TFLs! Gilliam came to Oklahoma with his teammate Damond Harman; the pair helped their high school go 11-1 and make it to their classification’s second round of the playoffs.

Notre Dame was the main competition for Oklahoma for his services, but in total, he had over 41 offers!

Depth Chart and impact in 2022

The starting DTs on this Oklahoma team is pretty obvious with Jalen Redmond and Tulane transfer Jeffery Johnson. The two have NFL futures; they’re experienced and forces on the interior. But that position is physical, and with injuries and rest needed, Gilliam would be one of the first players off the bench for Oklahoma alongside guys like Joshua Ellison, Isaiah Coe, and Jordan Kelley. The Sooners have a deep rotation, but Gilliam has stood out as just a freshman. Kelvin dealt with some injury last year but was listed as the number three guy under the previous staff as a true freshman a season ago.

Scouting

Kelvin Gilliam played defensive end in high school and was athletic, quick, and powerful. He did not win Gatorade player of the year for no reason. He was an absolute menace. They could not block him with doubles; they couldn’t chip. There was nothing they could do to stop him from penetrating the backfield. He set the edge well in the run game and secured several TFLs. At the collegiate level, he is the kind of guy that will be unbelievably difficult for big-bodied guards to deal with because of his athletic ability. In a pinch, Gilliam could play on the edge for Oklahoma, though with the depth currently the way it is across the line of scrimmage, not something I view as likely.