A key member on Penn State football’s defense plans to enter the transfer portal.
On Wednesday, defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam announced that he plans to enter the transfer portal.
It also must be noted that, per Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Gilliam is open to returning to Penn State.
Per Pro Football Focus, Gilliam played more snaps (409) than any Penn State DT besides Zane Durant, who is out of eligibility.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound redshirt freshman had a career day in the regular-season finale against Rutgers. Gilliam made one tackle, recorded half a tackle for loss, and half a sack.
He finished his first full season with 15 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks in 11 games. He played four games as a true freshman before maintaining his redshirt.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Gilliam found his way into the defensive line rotation for the majority 2025 in Deion Barnes’ unit.
The transfer portal opens Friday and will run for a single 15-day window, with no spring portal, through Jan. 16 for the 2026 football season.
Before Penn State, Gilliam lettered in all three seasons he played high school football. He played the first two at Wilde Lake before transferring to Quince Orchard, which is also the alma mater of former Penn State DE Chop Robinson. As a senior, Gilliam helped Quince Orchard to a 11-1 record and was a first-team All-Metro performer. He ended the season with 42 tackles, six sacks and 15 tackles for loss. His junior season was just as good. That year, Gilliam put up 52 tackles, six sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and a pass breakup. It was the summer after that junior season when Gilliam committed to Penn State, choosing PSU over Duke, NC State and Virginia Tech, among others.
Penn State finished the season 7-6 following a 22-10 victory over Clemson in the 2025 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
