On Thursday night, Tennessee football landed the commitment of Penn State defensive line transfer Xavier Gilliam. It didn’t take long for him to try to bring a trio of former Nittany Lion teammates with him.
Just after his announcement, Gilliam took to his X account to post a photo of edge rusher Chaz Coleman and defensive back Dejuan Lane. His caption read: “Need my dawgs with me!!” with an orange emoji. He then tagged the former teammates with eye ball emojis.
Gilliam followed up the post by tagging linebacker Amare Campbell. He will reportedly be visiting tomorrow. That post just had an eye ball emoji and orange emoji before tagging him.
Coleman has already visited Knoxville and is being recruited by both LSU and Ohio State. Lane recently entered the portal and was quickly tied to Tennessee. The fits make clear sense, with the Vols hiring former PSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles this offseason.
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Lands Commitment of New Kicker Through Transfer Portal
As a transfer portal prospect, 247Sports has Gilliam tagged as a four-star player, the No. 38 transfer in the cycle and the No. 4 defensive lineman. Gilliam’s addition to the Tennessee roster helps fill a much-needed spot on the Vols’ defensive line.
The Maryland native has been with Penn State for the past two seasons but was directly under Knowles’ coordinator direction in 2025. He didn’t play much in his true freshman season, earning him a redshirt, but found a more significant role this past season. Gilliam played in all 12 games for the Nittany Lions with two starts, tallying 15 total tackles, two tackles for loss and half a sack.
While Gilliam will continue to play under Knowles’ direction as the defensive coordinator, we also now know that he’ll be playing under Rodney Garner as the Vols’ defensive line coach. Garner entered the offseason as Tennessee’s lone assistant on an expiring contract, but the Vols kept him on Knowles’ staff moving forward. Garner is a highly respected assistant coach and will be an important piece for the Vols’ new-look defense next season.
One Response
Great job go vols.