Tallahassee ATH has over 50 offers

Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln athlete Ryan Gilliam hasn't been attending football camps this summer but that doesn't mean he's been taking the summer off. Gilliam and his Lincoln teammates follow an offseason workout regimen that rivals that of many Division I-A colleges.

Everyday Gilliam awakes at around 7 o'clock in the morning and heads to Lincoln High School for workouts. They'll take a short break around noon and return later in the afternoon. The goal is simple. Gilliam and his team's drive is to win yet another state championship.

"I'm working hard, myself and the rest of my teammates," Gilliam said. "We're trying to win another state championship and get some more rings. That's our goal right there."

Gilliam has no plans to attend any individual camps at colleges but says the possibility exists that Lincoln's skill players may attend a team camp at Troy State.

"Our coach, David Wilson at Lincoln, has some ideas against (going to individual camps) so myself and other guys on my team like Antonio Cromartie really don't do camps," Gilliam said. "We may go to some team camps but no individual camps. Our offensive and defensive linemen go to Down & Dirty every year. I believe our skill guys, receivers, and DBs may be going to Troy State but I doubt it. We have a workout that we do during the summer that most in the state and the nation don't do."

Ryan Gilliam has changed his favorite schools and even has scheduled two official visits for after the football season.

"I've been very blessed," Gilliam said. "At this point I have over 50 written offers. My top five has changed a lot. My No. 1 is Georgia Tech and then I like Illinois. After that it's basically even. I've got LSU and Oregon and then after that it's wide open. I'm still wide open to this point but I've already committed to two visits. I'm visiting Georgia Tech I believe the third weekend in January and I'm visiting Illinois in December after our state championship game."

Most schools have been recruiting Gilliam to play either corner or wide receiver, but some have expressed an interest in him playing tailback at the next level. However, Gilliam would rather not play in the backfield in college.

"In high school I play many positions-- safety, corner, quarterback, running back, and receiver," Gilliam said. "I'm 165 to 170 pounds, I fluctuate back and forth. In college I really think it's going to come down to receiver and corner. I don't want to play tailback. My brother plays tailback for Georgia. He gets banged up a lot and he's playing at about 190. He's not small like me at all. My brother is all muscle and he gets banged up a lot. That's not something I really want to do, play tailback. Besides that, I'll do whatever I can to help the team out either being a receiver or a corner."

Many may have figured the hometown Seminoles would have held the inside track for Gilliam but he says that's not true. However Gilliam isn't writing the 'Noles off entirely yet. He says he'll make his college decision when he feels the time is right.

"Florida State has definitely dropped off, but they're not totally out of the picture," Gilliam said. "I was at one point ready to commit but things change in the process and I started seeing the process for what it was. I'm definitely going to take my time but I don't think it's going to come down to the last minute. If I feel comfortable on a visit I'm not going to play any games. I'm just going to commit and get it done with."