Underclassman to Watch Recruiting Report: Eli Gillman (Dassel-Cokato/2022)

One of the cooler and more underrated aspects of writing for Northstar Football News is uncovering, tracking, and hyping up the younger upcoming prep recruits the state of Minnesota has to offer. Getting ahead on the recruiting trail of a future potential highly rated recruit and helping to disperse their film and get their name out there as a underclassmen is a very cooling feeling as a writer in my position. I also can’t help but think a good one has been found with this newest recruit for this report: Dassel-Cokato 2022 ATH [player_tooltip player_id="22923" first="Eli" last="Gillman"]. The 5’11, 180 lb. athlete is in his second year starting for Chargers and is one of the most explosive sophomores in the state of Minnesota as he is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball as either a running back, receiver, or as a returner. Gillman also has defensive back experience, and it is safe to say he is the total package as player and one of the best kept secrets in the state after scoring 21 touchdowns in the 2019 season while helping Dassel-Cokato reach the 3A state championship where they lost a heartbreaker to Pierz High School 27-28. Gillman had a monster game however, and scored on a 71-yard touchdown run to open the scoring up for the Chargers in the championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium. The previous game - in the state semifinal win against Annandale - Gillman was named MVP after a 3 TD performance, and these postseason accomplishments did not go unnoticed as he was invited to "The Show’, a skills camp for kids from all around the nation hosted at IMG Academy. Northstar Football News is very fortunate to be one of the first media outlets to get in-touch with Gillman, and he gave us some in-depth answers regarding his prep career for the Chargers thus far, including their more than successful 2019 season, how he feels being honored in the NFN c/o 2022 rankings, what he can offer to a college football program, and more. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11104680/5da5ca7c0dc05612404c3a5d">Sophomore Highlights</a> [caption id="attachment_18815" align="aligncenter" width="385"] #87[/caption] NFN: Hello and thank you for your time, Eli. Please begin by sharing with our readers a little bit about where you’re from, how you began playing football, some fun facts about yourself, and what you love about the game. Gillman: "I was born in Florida and adopted as a baby by Brian and Dawn Gillman. We live in Dassel, MN. I am the middle child of 5. I love surfing on our lake in the summer, hanging with friends, Chick-Fil-A and singing and dancing in the shower. I was an early walker 8 months old and any ball my mom threw at me I played catch. We were home schooled until I was in 7th grade and we played school and club ball. As an 8th grader I made it on the Comets Elite b-ball team and had a blast. I have always watched YouTube videos and plays over and over again to practice as a kid. Fun facts I am always trying to get in the head of my opponent, I try to be one step ahead of them, but love to watch film and see how I could improve and even find humor in all sports be it football, track and field or b-ball. My younger brother and I never fight and we push each other and have a lot of fun together. Like many other guys you will find me watching every game the night of the game on Hudl going over it all. Another fun fact is I love to rap and may come across quiet/shy but once we are close I’m not. What I love about playing football the most is...hitting people, the atmosphere and learning from all my coaches. I have really thrived with the coaching style Ryan Weinandt and his coaches have brought to our team. There is such mutual respect and we are very adaptable because of that. We are a unit, it’s not all oh this guy or that guy. I wouldn’t have scored 21 TDs this season has it not been for my OL and coaching. I’m 5’11” weight: 180 broad jump: 113” 40 yd dash 4.56, I squat 375lbs and bench 235." [caption id="attachment_18808" align="aligncenter" width="364"] #87 at the Bank after the Annandale W[/caption] NFN: Well said. How was your 2018 freshman year with the Chargers? What were some highlights and lowlights? How did it impact your 2019 sophomore season? Especially since you started as a CB... Gillman: "Last year I started as Freshman and played cornerback. In 1 game they threw me in as RB and I got the ball pitched back to me and then ran it in for a 67yd TD. Lowlight was puking in front of everyone after that long run. I loved our St. Johns University Football camp, bonding with the older guys and the coaches. This year starting as a Sophomore I actually wanted to still be at CB, and then they moved me to offense and after that first game at offense I was hooked. I actually love it all. I played both ways and it has been the best season ever. My favorite game of the season was the semi finals against Annandale and the big run 87 yd TD, hearing and feeling in my chest the roar of the crowd. Being voted MVP of that game and going up for a press conference afterwards was so surreal. It felt so good to have victory in that game and play at the US Bank Stadium." [caption id="attachment_18813" align="aligncenter" width="402"] #87[/caption] NFN: How did you guys make that jump from 2018 to such a successful 2019? Also, what do you love about the Dassel-Cokato program? Gillman: "I’m still so curious how we made that jump from 2018-19 I think all the really hit the weights and got bigger, faster, stronger and we played for something bigger than ourselves with <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-jwli3a r-1loqt21 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-1ddef8g r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/macdon?src=hashtag_click" data-focusable="true">#macdon</a> Jacob MacDonald #34 that passed away 2 years ago. Our captains were such leaders and mentors to us. I love playing for D-C because everyone is so nice, it’s like we don’t ever fight against each other the culture is amazing to grow and thrive in." [caption id="attachment_18810" align="aligncenter" width="375"] #87[/caption] NFN: How does it feel to be ranked on the Northstar Football News c/o 2022 rankings? Gillman: "It feels like I am moving in the right direction to be ranked and I believe it is showing some of my hard work but I know I can become a better player than I am right now and I will continue to grind and become the best player I can be." NFN: What were expectations like going into the 2019 season? Did the end of 2018 get you guys some momentum leading into ’19? Also, how did you crack the starting lineup and find so much early success? Gillman: "My expectations for myself were pretty high because I usually love to challenge myself. I wanted to get at least 130 rushing yards a game and finish every drive with a touchdown from either me or my teammates. I think I cracked the starting lineup by working super hard at practice and using my god given talents to make myself and my team better. We were already fired up from last year getting to the section finals against Waseca and we kept that fire and carried it into next season. We built off all of our simple mistakes and kept working on technique and the little things in practice to make us a better team then we were the previous season." [caption id="attachment_18807" align="aligncenter" width="375"] #87[/caption] NFN: Get into some details of the 2019 season? What were some important games for you guys? How did the regular season get you guys ready for playoffs? Gillman: "Our first 8 regular season games went very well, as we only lost two contests which were both very good games. Some of my best games were against New London-Spicer, Holy Family, and Princeton where I found plenty of running lanes made by my teammates and gave me opportunities to make plays. The Litchfield game we had to many “mental mistakes” as what my coach would call it and we beat them by 4 touchdowns the next time we played them during the second round of the playoffs. Annandale we will prepare better ways for our offensive line to block Annandale’s talented defense. For New London we will need to have a better start to the game and to figure out how to find spots and holes in New London’s defense when we are in spread offense because running bone won’t work every time. The playoffs our whole team was so determined to keep going. We had our whole community on our backs and we were so touched by our teammates dreams and how he couldn’t be with us today playing, so we had more encouragement and we were going to push through no matter what because we were playing for not only ourselves, he for our fallen brother and teammate." [caption id="attachment_18809" align="aligncenter" width="416"] #87[/caption] NFN: Forsure. How about the state tournament? What details can you give us on that Cannon Falls game, Annandale rematch and the Pierz finale? Gillman: "State was a whole different level and excitement and energy in our team and fans. Our team never stopped fighting until the end against Cannon Falls which was just enough to edge by them and was similar to Annandale. We have had a hard time running against Annandale before and it wasn’t going our way right away for us when we played them in stats either. I had 3 touchdowns against Annandale and the final drive was when we finally started creating open holes for our offensive to keep moving, which was also what lead to the 87 yard touchdown run. Against Pierz I had 2 touchdowns and an interception and our offense couldn’t be stopped. The problem with Pierz though, was that we had troubles stopping their offense as well and we couldn’t get that one extra stop we needed to keep the Pioneers shy of our 27 points." [caption id="attachment_18801" align="aligncenter" width="376"] #87 against Pierz[/caption] NFN: How about recruiting? What are some teams you’re interested in? What are some teams who have contacted you? What are you looking for in a potential college? Gillman: "I am interested in the Gophers, Clemson, Florida State and many other big D1 schools. I haven’t planned any college visits yet but have been connected to Minnesota and NDSU. I have been to quite a few showcases. I got invited to the NextGen showcase in Michigan and I preformed well enough to get invited to “The Show” which will be held in Florida. I also have been to a few workouts at the Vikings training haus in Eagan MN. I’m looking for a good football team to help bring my skills too and contribute to a successful many win season." [caption id="attachment_18811" align="aligncenter" width="442"] #87[/caption] NFN: Last but not least: what can you add to a college football team as a recruit? What do you do well as a football player? Gillman: "What I can bring to a college football program is receiving skills and can make plays off of handoffs along with a run after catch. I can bring strength and energy to a college football team and can help give the team the motivation they need to keep grinding during the season along with the offseason." Stay tuned for more news on Dassel-Cokato’s stud #87, as [player_tooltip player_id="22923" first="Eli" last="Gillman"]’s football journey is just beginning!

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Underclassman to Watch Recruiting Report: Eli Gillman (Dassel-Cokato/2022)

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