Obviously I'm reading up on some recruiting tonight...... Greg Gilmore's list of schools reads like an Under Armour All-American. That's appropriate since he is one. The ESPN 150 prospect was just selected to the annual event that will take place this January in Orlando, Fla. “I'm pretty much taking my life one play at a time, and that was one of my milestones,” the defensive tackle from Hope Mills, N.C., said about his selection. Gilmore remembers watching some of the more talented players at the all-star game in recent years. Based on his scholarship offers list, he should be able to uphold the tradition. As for recruiting, Gilmore has taken a no-nonsense approach. He has forgotten how many scholarship offers he has, because he's told some schools immediately, yet respectfully, that he's just not interested. When he gave it some thought, Gilmore said he believed he had around 30 scholarship offers. The nation's 99th best prospect isn't shy about where he's leaning. His top five schools are LSU, Florida, USC, Clemson and Alabama -– in that order. Gilmore is set to visit Florida this weekend. The Gators and every finalist has a tough battle in order to beat out the Tigers for Gilmore. He's been incredibly impressed with LSU. “It has everything,” he said of the SEC West school. “But that's one of the things about all of these schools. They all have the same things.” LSU, however, seems to have a little more. Gilmore said the $60-million academic center for business studies is perfect for him, since he plans to major in business. He said he has the strongest relationships among recruiters with LSU's staff, namely defensive coordinator John Chavis and defensive line coach Brick Haley. He also sees early playing time as a real possibility in Baton Rouge, a city in which he even said has great weather. Gilmore had nothing negative to say about LSU. That's not the case with his other finalists. He expressed concern about the state of Florida's program. "There's some pros and cons at Florida," the 10th-best defensive tackle prospect in the country and third-best prospect in North Carolina said. "They're in a rebuilding mode. That started with a great class last year. They need a great class this year. It takes more than one year." Still, Gilmore said Florida's defensive scheme should prepare him for the NFL. He also said Gainesville is a great college town, which seems important. That's a concern with USC, where Gilmore will visit in late June. Gilmore has been to California, and he's not sure just how prominent the Trojans are in the big, busy state. “That's the only thing about USC that kind of gets me; ... you take out USC, there's so many other things to do,” he said. Yet the Trojans have an ace up their sleeve. Gilmore's father lives in nearby San Diego. As for Clemson, it certainly offers the atmosphere Gilmore is looking for. Clemson was one of the first schools to offer Gilmore, but that was before they lost his chief recruiter, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. The longtime defensive coach said he was fired in January. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Steele resigned. Regardless, he's not there now. “They were a big school for me,” Gilmore said. “... Him leaving put a dent in my relationship with them. Other than that, it's all good.” Gilmore has visited the last school in his list, Alabama. Coincidentally (or not), that was for the LSU game. “Beautiful, beautiful campus,” he said, adding that he's also fond of the coaches there. With recruiting well in hand, Gilmore will focus on the weight room. The long-armed 6-foot-4, 285-pound prospect said his max bench press is up to 280 pounds. He expects to hit 300 before his senior season. That's certainly a challenge, but probably not as tough a task as trying to lure him away from LSU. Tags:Florida Gators, LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, USC Trojans, Clemson Tigers, Greg Gilmore
Just watched a clip of him working in one on one drills at a camp on dandy dons. Its short and sweet. I suggest watching it. Gilmore is special. Some guys don't require a whole lot of film I guess. This kid is very athletic and seems to enjoy what he is doing and appears to have a high motor. I've seen film but it's fun to see him in these drills as well. Im not sure how many kids were going as full bore as he was going. He is exploding thru the tackle dummy as if it's a real person. Wherever he goes, he will play early. Doesn't seem to have very much bad weight for a guy his size. Once he gets into a good strength and conditioning program...gonna be a good one. http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/recruiting-football/VTO-Sports-Greg-Gilmore-1094376
