Tennessee Vols newcomer named as one of the most important transfers for the 2026 college football season
The Tennessee Volunteers were aggressive in the NCAA transfer portal, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. Tennessee brought in 21 transfer additions over the offseason, by far the most of the Josh Heupel era.
The Tennessee Vols had a fruitful offseason in the NCAA transfer portal, bringing in 21 transfer additions.
Most of those additions came on the defensive side of the ball.
And one of those additions was named by CBS Sports this week as one of the most important transfers in college football for the 2026 season.
CBS Sports says Vols defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam is one of the most important transfer additions of the offseason
CBS Sports ranked the 26 most important transfers for the 2026 season and Vols defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam came in at No. 17.
Gilliam transferred to Tennessee after spending the first two seasons of his career at Penn State. He’s one of several transfer additions who played under new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles at Penn State last season.
“He’s a guy who has played some football and has familiarity with the scheme,” said Vols head coach Josh Heupel in April when asked about Gilliam. “He had a really good offseason in our winter program, and then as we have continued to go through spring ball, I think he has flashed more and more the deeper we have gotten into it. First and second down, he’s really good at the point of attack, not getting moved versus double teams.
“He’s done a good job using his hands. I have shown him a couple of times in our block destruction drill that we do up front. Then you look at some of what he’s done in our pass rush, that’s our pass rush period and during team, he has showcased the ability to play on the edge and affect the quarterback.”
Gilliam has drawn comparisons this spring to former Tennessee defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott, a second round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Xavier Gilliam has flashed a lot,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price last month. “The name that’s been tossed around to me is Omarr Norman-Lott as far as how twitchy he is inside. He’s not an overly big defensive tackle, but as a guy that can play inside that is also quick enough to make the lives of interior offensive linemen really, really difficult. He’s had a nice start to his Tennessee first spring here in Knoxville.”
Winning in the SEC is all about being elite in the trenches. And Gilliam should certainly help the Vols excel in that area.