Neville Gallimore to Oklahoma: Sooners Land 4-Star DT Prospect

Oklahoma's defense just got a lot stouter.

Bob Stoops and the Sooners landed defensive tackle prospect Neville Gallimore on Saturday. Brandon Huffman of Scout.com reported the news of the player's announcement, which occurred on Saturday at the Army All-American game:

Gallimore, who hails from the Canada Prep Football Academy in Ontario, is a 4-star recruit per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He rates No. 104 among all recruits nationally and is the No. 13-rated defensive tackle in the entire class of 2015.

The first thing that jumps out about Gallimore is his impressive size. He checks in at 6’3” and 300 pounds and is capable of swallowing up massive holes in the middle of the line, which helps stifle the opposing rushing attack.

Credit: 247Sports

Gallimore lines up on the edge for a number of plays each game, but he is probably going to transition to the middle of the defensive line in college based on his size alone. That means his ability to take up space is rather important.

It is more than just his brute strength, though, that will help the Sooners. Gallimore registered a time of 4.72 seconds in the 40 yard dash (per 247Sports), which means he has a downright scary athleticism component to his game. It almost seems unfair for a kid that large and strong to be that athletic as well.

At least that will be the sentiment from plenty of offensive coordinators in the Big 12 for the foreseeable future.

That speed and athleticism helps Gallimore chase down quarterbacks if he breaks through the line and apply constant pressure even when he doesn’t. In 2013, he tallied seven sacks along with 15 tackles for loss. It’s not that unusual to see him shoving one or two offensive linemen into the backfield, and he is more than capable of pursuing ball-carriers in the open field.

Some of the most prestigious programs in the country recruited Gallimore throughout the summer at one point, including Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Oklahoma, Florida State, Oregon and Florida, among others. 

It wasn’t just the schools recruiting him, as Allen Trieu of Scout.com pointed out:

For those wondering about the Canadian angle of this commitment and how well Gallimore will translate in American college football, his high school coach, Geoff McArthur, had an answer, via Tyler James of the South Bend Tribune (subscription required):

"

Even though we're in Canada, we play a full U.S. schedule. That's help validate his ability. I work really hard to get my kids' information out there, so we can spread the word and make sure that we're doing a good job on our end and working hard for the kids.

"

Defensive tackles who can also tally sacks are rare in college football. There is so much emphasis on stuffing the middle to take away an alley for read-option plays and draws that coaches often only fixate on the larger bodies who can eat up space. Gallimore is that special talent who can do both and immediately transforms the Sonners' defensive line going forward.

While Oklahoma are typically among the best teams on paper across the country, Gallimore could find a way to earn early playing time as a freshman. Defensive linemen tend to rotate about six to eight deep because of the grueling nature of the position, so Gallimore should have an opportunity to impress right away.

Don’t be surprised when he does.