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Thanks to his third growth spurt in as many years, Gilliam is now 6-7 and weighs 260 pounds. Last year, he weighed 220.

And he's been clocked with 4.7 speed on that monster frame. No wonder he's so fast, considering his shoe size is a 17.

"I just keep filling out," said Gilliam, who was originally from Harrisburg but now lives in Chambersburg with his mother and has attended Milton Hershey for 10 years.

"Last year, Coach [Bob Guyer] sent out some tapes of me, and that's when it all started. It's not been that bad [the recruiting process]. I don't mind it."

A laid-back kid who is very quiet and humble, Gilliam doesn't fully understand the tremendous upside harnessed inside his massive frame.

That's probably because sports -- Gilliam also plays basketball, track and pitched for the baseball team a couple of years ago -- is something he does for fun.

"He's very raw as a football player, but it's his potential and versatility that strikes the college coaches when they see him," Guyer said.

"What I love about him is he's such a good kid and doesn't like to talk about himself that much. And he's an excellent student."

School is the real pilot light that ignites Gilliam's fire.

He's not too bad on the football field, either. Last season, he registered 70 tackles, 10 sacks and had a pair of interceptions from his defensive end position.

But when pressed on whether academics or athletics was his top priority, it didn't take him long to say "school" was more important.

That's probably why when the college football recruiting train started to gain steam after last season, Gilliam was mildly surprised.

"At first, it blindsided me. I didn't expect to get recruited," said Gilliam, a distinguished honors student who wants to study business and says science is probably his favorite subject.

"I just want to make sure I pick a school that fits me. Academics is my No. 1 priority."

Over the summer, Gilliam and his mom visited four schools -- Pittsburgh, Penn State, Connecticut and Virginia.

"He's such a physical specimen, but he could probably get an academic scholarship if he didn't play sports," Guyer said. "There plenty of offers, so he can pick a school that suits all his needs. That's a great luxury."

Gilliam grew up playing football -- he started at age 7. And it's always been his favorite sport. But at Milton Hershey, he had to wait until ninth grade to get back on the field. And since freshmen don't play at the varsity level, Gilliam really only has two years of experience.

"He's a very good football player, I know that," said Trinity coach Jeff Boger, who has a pair of Division I recruits on his roster and sent two others to the highest level in the past half-decade.

"You have to know where he was on the field at all times. He plays defensive end, so it's a little different than when they had [Penn State defensive lineman Abe Koroma].

"[Koroma] would just blow things up. With Gilliam, you just run away from him as much as possible. That's what we did. Plus, that kid can catch. With that frame and speed, there's no doubt about it, somebody is going to snatch him up."