Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 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 | |
| Total | 8 | 6 | 5.5 | 3.0 | — | 0 |
#2
Xavier Gilliam
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 58 · #128 of 330 interior linemenLow confidenceTransferred Penn State → Tennessee for 2026
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
3
sacks · 2026
5.5 TFL · 8 tackles
2 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.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Penn State in 2024.
- Transferred from Penn State to Tennessee in 2026.
In Their Words
59 windows · 2026 fan posts
moss×254.7xavier×65.4penn×36.3
“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.”
youtube/Josh Pate's College Football Show · fan post, verbatim
The story
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
- 247Sports: Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam joins Tennessee's defensive line
- Rocky Top Insider: Gilliam is stealing the headlines of spring camp
- AtoZ Sports: Vols newcomer already one of the best players on the roster after spring
- Rocky Top Insider: This Tennessee defender will be key after Chaz Coleman's departure
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.
2024
- Signed with Penn State3-star out of Quince Orchard
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Tennessee
Played his entire career under Josh Heupel.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Tennessee
2025Penn State
2026Tennessee
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Penn State13-3HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
2025Penn State7-6HC: Terry Smith · Run-leaning
2026Tennessee2-0HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Low confidence
Elite: tackles for loss (100th percentile). Strength: sacks (99th percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 4.0 TKL/g, 2.8 TFL/g, 1.5 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Josh Heupel
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
58 · #128 of 330 interior linemen
Three-star recruit. Now #128 at the position.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tennessee | 8 | 6 | 5.5 | 3.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Penn State | 16 | 12 | 3.0 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Penn State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 25 | 19 | 8.5 | 3.5 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 56–9
vs Furman
6 TOT · 5 SOLO · 3 SACKS
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
Game log
How he plays
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.
DNA match
Player DNA
Two-Gap Base
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jason Williams’s 2021 season.
85%match
NFL Rd 3 · Pk 5
Matches Jason on
Weight
TFL rate
Sack rate
Differs from Jason on
Hurry rate (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Rodney Lora's sophomore season at UCF (2025).
Matches Rodney on
Weight
Hurry rate
Sack rate
Differs from Rodney on
Class year (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like Xavier Gilliam
Background
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 …...
The defensive line · Tennessee
- #33Jordan Norman8 tackles for loss · 2025
- #5Daevin Hobbs3.5 tackles for loss · 2025
- #2Xavier Gilliam3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #18Tyree Weathersby3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #19Nathan Robinson2.5 tackles for loss · 2025
18 more on the roster · Tennessee team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology