Garry Gilliam Class: Senior Hometown: Carlisle, Pa. High School: Milton Hershey Height / Weight: 6-6 / 277 Position: TE Experience: JR H.S. Coach: Bob Gayer

A defensive end during his redshirt freshman season, Garry Gilliam made tremendous strides at tight end last year heading into the season. With the Nittany Lions having lost seniors Andrew Quarless and Mickey Shuler from the 2009 squad and veteran Andrew Szczerba dealing with a back injury, Gilliam and true freshman Kevin Haplea were thrust onto the field. Gilliam started three of the first four games last fall, but tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the Big Ten-opener at Iowa, ending his season. The serious knee injury may cause the strong and swift athlete with excellent size to miss the 2011 campaign. Gilliam made one catch for 21 yards against Temple and showed great promise. The former Milton Hershey School star brought a 3.07 cumulative grade-point average into the summer after gaining Academic All-Big Ten honors last fall.

2010 Sophomore Season
With veteran Andrew Szczerba sidelined with a back injury, Gilliam got onto the field in the opener with Youngstown State and earned three starts during the first month of the season. He made his first career catch, good for 21 yards, in the win over Temple. But, the following week, in the Big Ten-opener at Iowa, Gilliam tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, ending his season. He made starts against Youngstown State, Alabama and Temple and played on 217 snaps during the initial five games, topped by 59 in the win over Temple and 50 against Youngstown State.

2009 Freshman Season
Redshirt season. Gilliam played defensive end on the foreign team. He caught two passes for 23 yards in the 2010 Blue-White game.

High School
A standout athlete, Gilliam played four sports at the Milton Hershey School. The All-American, all-state and All-Mid-Penn Conference honoree was a four-year starter, playing tight end and defensive end under Coach Bob Guyer. Gilliam gained 350 receiving yards on 20 receptions and scored four touchdowns in his career. During his senior season, he racked up 70 tackles, five sacks and two interceptions. He finished with 153 tackles, 12 sacks and five interceptions in his scholastic career. He played on the winning squad in the 2009 Big 15 game. Gilliam also was a member of the Pennsylvania squad in the 2009 Big 33 Classic. A WGAL-TV Player-of-the-Week, Gilliam was a conference champion in the javelin and qualified for the state track and field championships.

Personal
Full name is Garry Montzell Gilliam Jr. He is the son of Thelma Shifflett and Garry Gilliam Sr. He has one brother, Victor, and a sister, Angel. In his spare time, Gilliam enjoys graphic design work. He is a management information systems major and owned a grade-point average above a 3.0 entering the summer. Born November 26, 1990 in Harrisburg, Pa.