Tennessee has four defensive players who competed at Penn State last football season before following their coordinator, Jim Knowles, to Knoxville.
Xavier Gilliam was the first to take that leap.
“I like the defense, and I like how we play in the defense,” Gilliam said earlier this week in a press conference. “I also saw Tennessee as a great opportunity and a great school.”
Gilliam is a 6-foot-2, 305-pound, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle from Montgomery Village, Maryland, who committed to the Volunteers out of the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 8. He would be joined within the next two days by three fellow Nittany Lions: senior linebacker Amare Campbell, sophomore edge rusher Chaz Coleman and junior safety Dejuan Lane.
After playing in five games in 2024 and protecting his redshirt year, Gilliam saw action in 409 defensive snaps last season, amassing 15 tackles, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He blocked a field-goal attempt that resulted in a touchdown at Iowa, and one of his two starts came in the Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson.