At Penn State he was the No. 3 defensive tackle, a 409-snap rotation piece behind names that mattered more. Then his defensive coordinator left for Tennessee, Gilliam followed, and by April a Vols source was telling CBS Sports he'd 'probably be our best d-lineman.' Same player, new building, completely different story.
6′2″ · 305 lb · Montgomery Village, MD · Quince Orchard
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
sacks · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 3 sacks, 5 TFL, 6 tackles, vs Furman
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
At Penn State he was the No. 3 defensive tackle, a 409-snap rotation piece behind names that mattered more. Then his defensive coordinator left for Tennessee, Gilliam followed, and by April a Vols source was telling CBS Sports he'd 'probably be our best d-lineman.' Same player, new building, completely different story.
“Lee, Moss, Campbell, Gilliam, and Metcalf added to the guys Tennessee retained is going to add up to Tennessee having a great defense this year.”
The dominant offseason thread isn't the box score, it's the migration. When Jim Knowles bolted Penn State for Knoxville, he took a piece of the Nittany Lions' defense with him, and Gilliam was the quietest of the bunch, a redshirt freshman with two career starts and a stat line (15 tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 sacks) that didn't scream 'cornerstone.' But Tennessee got loud about him fast: Heupel praised his block destruction and his ability to hold up against double teams, and coaches started floating an Omarr Norman-Lott comparison for his quickness off the interior. AtoZ Sports already lists him among the best players on the roster coming out of spring.
The stakes only climbed in June. The marquee Penn State import, Chaz Coleman, the one who got a reported ~$2 million, was medically disqualified and parted ways with the program, turning Tennessee's headline transfer bet into a bust. With Daevin Hobbs fighting the same foot injury that nagged him in 2025, the projected starting tackle next to him is the guy nobody was talking about in January. Rivals slotted Gilliam as the No. 10 DL in the portal; post-spring depth charts have him starting.
So the boards on Rocky Top have flipped from 'who's Xavier Gilliam' to 'is he the answer in the middle.' The forward stake for 2026: does the spring riser hold up over a full SEC slate, or is Tennessee asking a one-start redshirt freshman to anchor a line that has to replace its best from a year ago?
SOURCES
His career
No pbp percentiles exist for Gilliam (a redshirt freshman interior tackle with one full season of snaps), so this is a scouting read, not a metric one. He's not a space-eater in the classic mold at a listed 6-2, 300 (the recruiting file had him at 265 out of Quince Orchard) but the coaching staff's selling point is leverage and quickness: good at the point of attack, hard to move on doubles, and disruptive enough off the snap that Tennessee staffers reached for an Omarr Norman-Lott comp. His 2025 production was modest and rotational, 12 solo tackles, 3 TFL, half a sack, fitting a No. 3 DT in a deep room, so 2026 is the projection year where the flashes either become a snap count or stay flashes.
Written by our staff.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Josh Heupel.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Tennessee
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tennessee | 12 | 6 | 5.5 | 3.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Penn State | 16 | 12 | 3.0 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Penn State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 29 | 19 | 8.5 | 3.5 | -- | -- | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-9vs Furman | 6 | 5 | 5.0 | 3.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 45-24@ Georgia Tech | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 42-9vs Kennesaw State | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 6 | 5.5 | 3.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 56–9
vs Furman
3 sacks · 5 tackles for loss · 6 tackles
Dominant 47-point win at home against Furman.
With F. Brandon — 226 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 68 rush yds (10 car) · 2 TD · M. Matthews — 4 rec · 132 yds · 2 TD
Since week 2: +4 tackles, +2 hurries.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles for loss (99th percentile). Strength: sacks (99th percentile). Concern: passes defended (28th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
46%6 TFLSack rate
25%3 sacksHurry rate
17%2 hurries12 tackles · 6 for loss · 3 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 5.0 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Josh Heupel
Pass share
35.9%
74 pass / 132 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
80 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Play style
No pbp percentiles exist for Gilliam (a redshirt freshman interior tackle with one full season of snaps), so this is a scouting read, not a metric one. He's not a space-eater in the classic mold at a listed 6-2, 300 (the recruiting file had him at 265 out of Quince Orchard) but the coaching staff's selling point is leverage and quickness: good at the point of attack, hard to move on doubles, and disruptive enough off the snap that Tennessee staffers reached for an Omarr Norman-Lott comp. His 2025 production was modest and rotational, 12 solo tackles, 3 TFL, half a sack, fitting a No. 3 DT in a deep room, so 2026 is the projection year where the flashes either become a snap count or stay flashes.
Our classifier reads him the same way: wins his gap play after play.
Returning starter at the defensive line for a 8-5 Tennessee team that went -8 in the portal.
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jamal Marcus’s 2016 season.
Matches Jamal on
Differs from Jamal on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Bryan Bresee's junior season at Clemson (2022).
Matches Bryan on
Differs from Bryan on
Player DNA
CAREER HONORS 2026 Preseason All-SEC Fourth Team (Athlon) CAREER Physical defensive tackle with a strong trajectory who is expected to make an immediate impact in his first season at Tennessee … Transfers from Penn State where he played two seasons, including the 2025 campaign under Jim Knowles…
18 more on the roster · Tennessee team page