Charlotte Christian LB Ryan Gilmartin Discusses Verbal Commitment to UConn

Written by Ryan Wright

Sunday was the icing on the cake for Charlotte Christian linebacker Ryan Gilmartin. A starter on the field since his freshman season, the 6’1”, 230 pound, Class of 2016 talent has helped the Knights to back-to-back-to-back state championships unseating cross-town rival Charlotte Latin in 2013 and 2014 for the state title. Through his efforts, Gilmartin is 117 tackles shy of setting the school record for most career tackles while piling up first-team All-State honors and recruiting interest.

The championships will never get old, playing with friends is always great, the off the field accolades are amazing, but Gilmartin now knows all of his hard work and efforts have been rewarded after accepting an offer to play football for Connecticut on Sunday.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I caught up with the North Carolina native following a fun day of celebration with friends and family honoring a great high school career that has several more pages left to be written.

Interview
Even though your recruiting process has been going on for some time, the actual commitment came quick. What influenced you to announce your commitment on Sunday?

“It was a lot of weighing options because it was down to two great schools. I felt whatever school I picked would be a great choice. The staff at Connecticut, I think, reached out to me more after my visit and pushed for me and wanted me a little bit more.

“It felt like a better fit for me. Not only playing in that system with Coach (Bob) Diaco (head coach), who played linebacker, Coach (Anthony) Poindexter (defensive coordinator/safeties coach), who played linebacker, and Coach (Vincent) Brown (co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach), who played linebacker in the NFL, those guys will be my position coach, defensive coordinator, and head coach. Three defensive minded guys that not only played defensive but played linebacker in college and in the pros. I thought learning from the best would give me an advantage as well. Plus, their defense suits my build better than other schools.”

What were your Top 2 choices?

“It was between Army and Connecticut.”

Was there a rush for you to commit before the season? Was there something behind you committing when you did?

“You know, my head coach (Jason) Estep and I got together and we just talked about getting this out of the way because it is a distraction. I won’t say it would alter my play but, having to pick a school in the back of my head is not something I want to do as I am gearing up for my senior year. I really just want to enjoy the season with my guys and be able to have fun and not worry about recruiting and hour long phone calls with coaches and stuff like that when I should be preparing for teams.”

How did the commitment take place?

“So what happened was, I actually called Coach (Wayne) Lineburg (quarterbacks coach), at 9 at night on Saturday. I told him I’m going to lock up a spot. So don’t have anyone else visit, don’t have anyone else call you I’m calling dibs on the spot because they’re only taking one linebacker. He’s obviously amped. Then, the next day I called Coach Lineburg again and asked him when I could get a hold of Coach Diaco. He forwarded me to him immediate. Right around 12:00-ish yesterday I officially committed to Connecticut but at around 2’o’clock I announced it.”

What was the reaction of Coach Diaco and Coach Lineburg when you committed? What all did they say to you?

“Both of them were amped and fired up. I think they realized that I’m the right kind of guy for their system and that I’m going to work my tail off to get in there early to make an impact and lead those guys. I think they fit my play style well. They like my physicality and my kind of character. I think it’s a perfect fit all the way around. When I told them I was coming I think they were both pretty excited. They got the guy they wanted.”

How did you feel at that moment when you verbally committed, were you nervous or excited?

“You know, it’s been since my sophomore year that I’ve really been going through this. I’m just happy it’s over and happy that I finally have a place I can call home that is special to me. The fact that I can play football for at least another four years is a blessing, not a lot of kids can do that. Really just a lot of happiness, I don’t think I was nervous. I was ready and prepared and ready to have fun.”

Do you still plan to take your other four official visits during your senior season?

“I think UConnn will be the only spot I go.”

I know it’s early but did you guys talk about an official visit date yet?

“No we haven’t. We just kind of let the aftershock of commit set in and let it chill for a little bit. I’ll probably call the head coach and the recruiting coordinator today to talk it over and talk about our vision. Then the next thing is to get more guys to come.”

That was my next question for you. Do you already have an idea of who you are going to call and starting talking Huskies football to and sell them on joining you at UConn?

“For sure. You know it’s so early, I haven’t had time to think about it too much but I have talked to commit Eddie Hahn from Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank, NJ) and Tahj Herring (Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT). They’re both 3-star guys and they’ll both be playing defense with me. We’ll probably get together and get with the coaches and go hard after the guys they want to sell Connecticut just as hard as the staff is.”

When you’ve talked to Coach Diaco or Coach Brown have they talked about how they plan to utilize you in their defense once you are on campus?

“They want to take me in as an inside linebacker, but it could be either a Will (weakside) or Mike (middle). It depends on what their needs are but I want to get in there early so if that means having to play Will and figure that position out I will. It’s not a huge transition but they plan to use me at inside linebacker.”

Do you plan on being an early enrollee going in for spring practices?

“No, I’ll go when everyone else goes. I think it’s late June early July, I don’t really know. But I want to finish high school with friends.”

What did you do last night to celebrate your commitment to UConn?

“To celebrate, we had over 40-50 of my closest friends and family. We had some solid Italian cooking and hung out and talked about it. It’s not always what you’re doing but the people that you’re with. The people that have been with me every step of the way to this decision, being with them on the day that I pick is a pretty big deal. I just hung out with them and the people that I care about.”

Connecticut 2016 Verbal Commitment List
WR Keyion Dixon, 6’3”, 178 lbs, Glastonbury HS, Glastonbury, CT
WR Quayvon Skanes, 5’10”, 170 lbs, Phillips Academy, Chicago, IL
QB/ATH Eddie Hahn, 6’3”, 200 lbs, Red Bank Catholic, Red Bank, NJ
QB Donovan Williams, 6’3”, 205 lbs, C.D. Hylton HS, Woodbridge, VA
LB Ryan Gilmartin, 6’1”, 230 lbs, Charlotte Christian HS, Charlotte, NC
CB Tahj Herring, 6’1”, 190 lbs, Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT

Photo credit: Ryan Gilmartin.