Oklahoma 2016 QB Scotty Gilkey Discusses Commitment to Eastern Illinois Panthers

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Eastern Illinois wrapped up a strong 7-5 season in 2015 going 7-1 in Ohio Valley Conference action. The Panthers relied on senior quarterback Jalen Whitlow for a little bit of everything in 2015 seeing Whitlow lead the team in passing with 1,909 yards, 10 touchdowns, and lead the team in rushing with 512 yards with two additional scores.

On Wednesday, the Panthers coaching staff appears to have found their replacement for Whitlow and a cornerstone to build around in Scotty Gilkey Jr.

The pairing of Gilkey to Eastern Illinois has a lot of root deep storylines starting with Scotty being a legacy. Scott Gilkey Sr. was a tight end for EIU catching passes with a then little known gunslinger named Tony Romo.

For EIU head coach Kim Dameron, pulling Gilkey out of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area makes sense, Dameron was a four-year letterman for the nearby Arkansas Razorbacks playing wide receiver and defensive back from 1979-82. In 1983, Dameron got his start as a graduate assistant with the Hogs and has shown loyalty to former Arkansas assistants hiring former offensive line coach Mark Hutson and running backs coach Danny Nutt.

Dameron landed Gilkey over offers from nine other programs that included Louisiana-Monroe and Louisville. Gilkey, a 6’5”, 220 pound, dual-threat, played his junior season at Broken Arrow High School but transferred in the offseason finishing at Edison. While at Edison, Gilkey passed for 1,700 yards, rushed for another 560 and amassed 21 total touchdowns.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I caught up with Scotty after his commitment to Eastern Illinois to get the inside scoop on how the momentous occasion played out.

Interview

Scotty, first, congratulations on your commitment to EIU today.

“Thank you.”

Let’s jump right to it, what influenced you to commit to EIU today?

“I’ve been thinking about it over a period of time and I’ve talked to my family about it. I know about the culture of the program and I know Coach Dameron and Coach (Greg) Stevens (offensive coordinator) well. I know those coaches will take care of me. EIU is my dad’s alma mater. I got to watch him and Romo play. That influenced me a lot. Overall it was definitely my decision. My dad knew I was going to commit there but I committed to Coach Dameron before telling my parents. Charleston is a great town. We have good family friends there. When I’m there, I have places to go and people to see. It’ll be good there for me.”

What was Coach Dameron’s reaction when you committed to him?

“I think it caught him off guard a little bit. I don’t think he was expecting it. I think he thought it was just another phone call catching up on things. I’m not going to say he was surprised but I’d say he was happy that I committed. I just talked to him again, he and his wife were welcoming me to the family.”

When you called did you know you were going to verbally committed at that time?

“Oh yeah, I definitely knew. I was ready. I had made my decision, it was just a matter of calling him.”

You had nine total offers, what were some of the other schools that were pursuing you on the recruiting trail?

“I had offers from Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Southeastern Missouri, Fort Hayes, NEO (Northeast Oklahoma), Grambling State, and a couple of others I cannot think of right now.”

Was your final decision a tough decision between EIU and another school?

“Not really. There were coaches I liked at other programs but none of them stood out like Eastern Illinois did to me. I Love coach Dameron. Other teams took care of me big time during the recruiting process, I’m thankful but Eastern has a big background in my family. It’s cool to put on the jersey my dad wore in college.”

What type of offense will Eastern Illinois run with you?

“They’re going to spread it out with me. They’re going to adjust to me.”

Have you taken any official visits during your senior season?

“I have not taken any. I’m going to Eastern on Jan. 15.”

Do you plan on recruiting other players to join you at EIU?

“Oh yes. We actually discussed that tonight. Coach Dameron is going to send me the names of kids so I can get in contact with them and help bring them to EIU.”

How are you going to pitch the other players to join you?

“I definitely think I can be our biggest recruiter. I think all programs start with the quarterback. I just want to talk to them about Eastern, the history of the program, and talk about Coach Dameron and Coach Stevens, what they have done and what they are doing at EIU. My message will be to let them know what is possible if we have the guys and that we can do something great.”

Scotty, again, congratulations on your verbal commitment and good luck at EIU.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: tulsaworld.com; Scotty Gilkey works in practice.

Photo credit: Gilkey family; Scotty getting quarterback instruction with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.