Why Oklahoma DL Signee Wyatt Gilmore Decided to Enroll Early

Despite still recovering from a broken foot, Gilmore was eager to get an early start on his college football career, saying that one of his goals is to earn some time on the field as a freshman.

“Right now, I got a broken foot, so i’m just really so i’m just really looking forward to getting that recovered,” Gilmore told AllSooners. “We’ll see where I can go from there, but I definitely want to get some playing time as a freshman.”

Gilmore said that he suffered the injury in a regular season game earlier this year before playing through the pain for a few more contests after initially getting hurt. Despite the foot injury, the talented edge rusher said that he should be fully cleared for football activities again in March, just in time for spring football.

While he is only a freshman, Gilmore will be a welcome addition to Miguel Chavis’ position room, as the Rogers, MN, product already has a good frame that should hold up well in the SEC. 

Gilmore said that he is also excited to play for Chavis, adding that the Sooners' edge rushers coach is extremely charismatic.

"I mean the energy of that guy is unmatched anywhere in the country," Gilmore told AllSooners. "He is just, he’s the guy that I wanted to coach me and lead me to be the man i’m going to be one day”

The 6-foot-4 defensive end's admiration for the OU coaching staff was reciprocated, as Gilmore’s future head coach had high praise for the 4-star edge rusher.

“One of the top players, if not the top player in the state of Minnesota, in Wyatt Gilmore. We identified Wyatt a long time ago, as a guy, man, he’s got all the stuff that the great ones have,” Brent Venables said on Wednesday.

“He’s got a motor, he’s got instincts, he’s got a great get-off, got a great body, really refined. Works hard at all the fundamental things. What I love, this is a hungry group of young men that have humility and the physical toughness, they love the game. Have all the right characteristics that you want, that’s going to help continue to promote development and growth quickly.”

In addition to the traits Venables mentioned, Gilmore also told AllSooners that he has a few more skills that fit well in Oklahoma’s defense.

“Fast and physical,” Gilmore said. “There’s never going to be a play where you’re going to see me walking, i’m running and i’m full speed at all times”

Gilmore’s skill set will also pair perfectly with the other high-profile defensive lineman in OU’s 2024 recruiting class.

5-star David Stone, 4-star Nigel Smith and 4-star Jayden Jackson are all set to join Gilmore in Norman next month, with Smith and Jackson already participating in the Sooners’ bowl prep. Ideally, Stone and Jackson can man the interior of the defensive line while Gilmore and Smith play the edge positions.

As Oklahoma heads into the SEC, it will need big, athletic, physical defensive lineman like the aforementioned group to be successful against the some of the stiffest competition in the country on a weekly basis.

Venables believes that Gilmore and company are the right group to help OU transition into their new conference, complimenting his newest defensive line signees at his press conference on Wednesday.

“I really love the defensive line, and we've talked about that as being something where everything starts up front, as the saying goes,” Venables said.

“Nigel Smith, Danny Okoye, Jayden Jackson and Wyatt Gilmore… I'm really excited about that group of guys up front combined with the guys that we're gonna have coming back, transitioning and going into the SEC. We've got length, size and power.”

Gilmore said that he is also excited to play with the talented group that Chavis and company have assembled, saying that the competition in the position room will make the whole group better.

“It’s just going to be awesome, iron sharpens iron,” Gilmore told AllSooners. “We’re all going to be competing for spots out there, we’re all going to be getting better.”

If Gilmore is cleared and able to participate in OU’s spring game, Sooner fans will finally get to see what Venables and Chavis have raved about in the talented edge rusher from Minnesota.

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