Interview with Scotty Gilkey: Oklahoma QB has successful visit to Louisiana Monroe

Broken Arrow High School’s Scotty Gilkey Jr. is one of the biggest mystery men of the Midwest and Southern Region for the Class of 2016. The 6’5”, 210 pound, pro-style gunslinger was slowed on the field last year by injury but that has not stopped Eastern Illinois, Louisville, and Louisiana-Monroe from extending offers, but the curiosity into the right arm of the prototypical quarterback does not stop there.

Colleges at all levels have expressed interest in the Oklahoma talent. Teams like Oregon, Oregon State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Bowling Green and even Central Arkansas are showing heavy to moderate interest. Recently Ivy League schools Harvard and Columbia have opened up lines of communication with Illinois, Southern Miss, and Notre Dame following suit.

The one thing everyone wants from Scotty is the chance to get him on campus to watch him throw in person. A couple of weeks ago showing off his arm for any college coaches much less Pop Warner coaches would have been a very painful endeavor but after successful hernia surgery, in a couple of weeks from now Gilkey will be able to show off his talents to anyone and everyone.

In a Recruiting News Guru one-on-one interview Scotty sat down to go over his recent unofficially visit to Louisiana-Monroe, recovering from his surgery, and his camp circuit plans over the spring and summer.

 

So Scotty, lets go over the painful stuff first. You had surgery, what put you under the knife?

“I had hernia surgery about three weeks ago. I’m a couple of weeks away from being able to go full on but we are easing back into it. I’ll be ready for spring ball.”

When did the injury occur?

“I had my hernia since Week 2 of the 2014 football season. I grinded through the injury during the season and grinded through the pain working out early in the offseason. If something bothered me I’d just take it easy. Working out during the offseason I knew I needed surgery after a certain point.”

Have colleges continued to show interest in you even though you’ve been laid up?

“I’ve been talking to more schools lately. A couple of Ivy league schools (Harvard and Columbia), Southern Miss, Central Arkansas, and Illinois have been contacting me a lot lately.”

When the coaches talk to you what are they saying?

“They all loved my film. They’re saying I look great and they will for sure be talking to me more. They all want me to get on campus. I’m going to take all the visits I can. I want to hit each one.”

You visited Louisiana-Monroe. How did that go?

“I visited Louisiana-Monroe on Friday. I loved it actually. It was a fun visit. Coach (Steve) Farmer (Offensive Coordinator) and I talked for a long time. He took me around. He showed me the facilities. They have a lot more changes coming with their facilities. The campus was very nice as well.”

What did Coach (Todd) Berry (Head Coach) and Coach Farmer tell you about how your skills would fit their system?

“They said I’d be a great fit for their team. They said the one thing they do have is team speed and that is one great thing for a QB. They said they are really looking forward for me coming down again.”

Did you plan an official visit time?

“We didn’t jump ahead to an official visit.”

What did you like about Louisiana-Monroe’s pitch to you?

“I liked that I got to talk to the coaches and have really gotten a chance to know the coaches. They’ve done a really good job of that. I have a buddy there right now. He’s talked really highly of the program which has helped. Coach Farmer is a great guy and that’s a really big deal for me right now.”

Who is your friend on the team?

“Ray Stovall (linebacker). He was a senior last year but my dad (Scotty Gilkey Sr.) coached him at Booker T. Washington (Tulsa). Everyone was gone for spring break but Ray came up to talk to me. He had all nice things to say about the school and the program.”

You mentioned you want to visit as many campuses as possible coming up, do you have any visits booked already?

“I’m for sure visiting Notre Dame. I’ve been talking to them about the visit. I plan on visiting Southern Miss too. Those are the only two scheduled as of right now but there will be more.”

Do your campus visits include one-day college camps?

“Yes. It’s a big deal for the coaches to see me live. Pretty soon we’ll start narrowing down which camps I’ll attend.”

Are you going to any exposure camps coming up?

“I want to go to one of “The Opening Regional” competitions. I wanted to go to the one in Dallas (March 15) that was over spring break but I couldn’t because I was recovering from my surgery. I’m going to hit up one in Ohio (May 31) or in Oakland (May 17). We’ll end up going to one of them.

“I’m also going to be going to the Manning Passing Academy as well on July 9. I just found out that I’m going. I found out over my birthday (March 17). That was one of my birthday presents.”

 

Gilkey’s mystery will be revealed once he gets a chance to throw live for any and every coach he visits during the offseason. The only mystery left after that is which school will pick up his talents come National Signing Day 2016.