Oklahoma DL Transfer Kelvin Gilliam Commits to Virginia Tech

Less than 24 hours away after beating Tulane 41-20 for their first winning season since 2019, Virginia Tech landed a commitment from Oklahoma DL transfer Kelvin Gilliam.

Gilliam chose the Hokies over other offers from Wisconsin, Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana, Memphis, Liberty, and Utah State. He is the fourth transfer portal addition this cycle for the Hokies joining Duke All-ACC DT Aeneas Peebles, MTSU All-Conference USA LB Sam Brumfield III, and Georgia State starting RT Montavious Cunningham.

Gilliam was a backup during his three seasons at Oklahoma with 10 tackles including 0.5 for loss. He only had three tackles this past season after being limited to only six games due to injury. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

With Pheldarius Payne, Norell Pollard, and Mario Kendricks all out of eligibility; Virginia Tech needed quality transfer portal/JUCO additions to refill that room. Tech has done that with Peebles, Kemari Copeland, and now Gilliam who should be able to come in immediately and be part of the rotation. It's also fair to expect Gilliam to battle Copeland and Josh Fuga for the second starting DT job opposite All-ACC standout Aeneas Peebles.

Gilliam was a priority for the Hokies from the moment he entered the portal with defensive coordinator Chris Marve and DL coach JC Price both flying to Oklahoma to visit him before he traveled to Blacksburg. Tech, especially Price, deserves plenty of credit for the recruiting work they've done landing their top transfer/JUCO targets at defensive tackle to reload that position, especially with what's returning elsewhere in 2024 for the Hokies.