Class of 2021 three-star SDE Gilliam is working the process

The spring and summer are busy times for football prospects as visits, camps, and offers take center stage. That’s true whether you’re in the current cycle or, like the case of 2021 strongside defensive end Kelvin Gilliam, in the one coming up.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound three-star recruit from Highland Springs already has an offer list that most in the 2020 class would be happy to have. The interest has been a thing he’s dealt with for some time.

“It’s really nice to see how all of these colleges are different from each other,” Gilliam told CavsCorner recently, “and seeing how every program is different, the culture is different, and every team and coaching staff is different. That’s been important to me, seeing the culture of it.”

You might think that offers are old hat now, give that he’s already got Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, Pitt, UVa, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia on him, among others. But Gilliam admits that the process never gets old.

“Well, I got my first offer going into my 10th grade year,” he recalled. “Then it just sort of blew up from there. I didn’t know it was going to happen that quickly. Seemed like month after month, I was getting at least a couple of new offers. It just got going quick.

“I don’t think you ever really get used to it,” Gilliam added. “I’m just so excited because whenever you get one, that’s a school saying good things about you and your ability. Every new offer is exciting. It never gets old.”

As you’d expect, given the options already on the table, it’s been a busy few months.

“This spring I’ve been on a quite a few visits to different colleges,” he said. “I’ve been to Virginia Tech, NC State, Michigan State, UVa, Ohio State, UNC, Clemson, Duke, and West Virginia. I usually go with family but if it’s a big number of us, I’ll just go with the group and my folks will stay home. We’ll just tour the campus as a team.”

At UVa, Gilliam has had a chance to see and learn a great deal during the time he’s been on Grounds.

“I went to see their spring game and I really was excited to see more of UVa after the first time I went,” he said. “The first time I went to UVa was for the Louisville game last year back when I wasn’t getting as much interest. But now they’re really interested in me and making me feel like I was at home. It was a lot of fun. We got see the facilities, watch the game, talk to the players. It was a really good visit.”

The staff in Charlottesville, led by outside linebacker’s coach Kelly Poppinga, has made it pretty clear how they see him fitting in.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “They actually broke down, if I were to come to UVa, how they would use me and how they would break things down for me. They’re a 3-4 look, so their defensive ends are really outside linebackers. One is a pass rusher while the other can pass rush or drop into the flats. That’s how they’d use me. Coach Pop, he’s really excited about me and what they do with my athleticism and using that in their defense.”

So what was it about his time at Virginia that made him feel so comfortable?

“It just feels like you’re at home when you visit there,” he said. “The coaching staff makes you feel so welcome and they really are so focused on you and who you are. They show you how much you matter and that you are so important to what they’re doing.”

Among the other trips he’s take, what stood out?

“I really don’t have a favorite or anything but being up north at Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, that was really cool,” Gilliam said. “That was an eye opener, just to see the way they do things, to see the environment, and how they operate up there compared to the way we do things down here in the south.”

While he’s planning to camp at Clemson this summer and hopes to set up a visit to Florida State as well, with Auburn also asking him to come down for camp, business isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Don’t expect geography to have too much of an impact.

“For me, distance probably won’t be a factor for me and my family,” he said. “Because, we haven’t had many problems traveling up north or down south. So I don’t think distance will be much of a problem for us.”

This offseason, in addition to taking visits and attending camps, Gilliam is focused on improving his game.

“The first thing I’m trying to do this offseason, the No. 1 thing, is stay healthy,” he said. “The second is just upgrading my pass rush and keep working. That’s what I always want to do. You never stay the same. You have to keep getting better because if you don’t, you’re getting worse.”

And going into the fall, he has high hopes for the Springers.

“Our expectations are big,” Gilliam said. “We have five returning guys on the offensive line and returning defensive lineman. But this year, we want to be put more emphasis and pressure on the line this year. So, we’re just working as a unit this year.”