Last weekend, Tennessee hosted several prospects on unofficial visits, and several of those players were from the state of Louisiana. One of those Louisiana players was a quarterback, and he left his trip to Knoxville with an offer.
Saturday, Amani Gilmore was on campus for an official visit, and afterwards he tweeted that he was “Extremely blessed to receive another offer from the University Of Tennessee.”
Extremely blessed to receive another offer from the University Of Tennessee ?????? pic.twitter.com/VmvpvSTGrc
— Amani Gilmore?? (@iam_maniiii) April 1, 2018
Gilmore is from Hammond, Louisiana, an area of increased recruiting emphasis. While the pro-style quarterback may not be ranked by any recruiting services yet, his impressive career at Hammond High School has caught the attention of several SEC schools. He also visited Kentucky recently, and they gave him an offer as well. Gilmore’s only other offer is Jackson State.
Looking at his 4.44 40 yard dash and 33.5 inch vertical, you may assume that Gilmore is a run first quarterback. That assumption, however, is flawed. He has a strong arm and can throw some darts. The lefty also plays baseball and has a fastball that sits in the mid 80s in MPH. That arm strength is exemplified on the football field. He is a pass-first guy, and his athleticism is a nice complement to his ability as a passer.
Gilmore can still make plays with his feet though, and he shows off elite play-making ability in the open field. That is definitely an aspect of his game that can be utilized at the next level. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is later classified as a dual-threat quarterback.
At 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, Gilmore has a good frame for a college quarterback. A look at his film shows loads of potential. His footwork is solid, and he has a quick and tight throwing motion. The offensive line play in front of him as been less than stellar, but he still does a good job of keeping his eyes down field when the pass rush comes. He shows some inconsistencies with his balance when throwing the football, sometimes getting too far on his front or back foot, which takes some of the zip off the ball. But that can be easily corrected. His accuracy is above average, and he does a good job getting his shoulders around when throwing on the run.
Overall, Gilmore is still a very raw player, but he has characteristics that can make him an above average college quarterback. Tennessee should be the favorite in his recruitment right now, but it will be interesting to see if Tennessee’s offer jump starts his recruiting. He will almost certainly be ranked in the next edition of the 247Sports rankings.
