Lamont Gaillard Recruit Scouting Report

At 6’3, 310 pounds, Lamont Gaillard is a hulking defensive tackle and one of the top prospects at any position in the 2014 class. Gaillard plays both offensive and defensive tackle for Fayetteville (N.C.) Pine Forest High School but is being recruited primarily as a defensive tackle.

Gaillard is a consensus four-star recruit, although there does seem to be some disagreement among some of the recruiting services about what his ultimate upside will be. Rivals offers, by far, the most pessimistic evaluation of Gaillard, giving him just three stars and ranking him 23rd at his position. Meanwhile, 247Sports rates Gaillard as a five-star prospect and projects him as the third-best defensive tackle and 16th-best overall player in the 2014 class. ESPN and Scout lie somewhere in between, both giving Gaillard four stars and ranking him second- and third-best defensive tackle, respectively.

As of December, Gaillard had offers from Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, and South Carolina.

Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst: Gaillard is all about potential. There just aren’t that many humans on earth who are as big and athletic as he is.

But he is not an instant-impact guy in my estimation. For one, he needs to do some reshaping to his body, which will happen if he follows the directives of the nutrition and strength staff at his school. He does show the ability to play with excellent bend and leverage, but does not do so all the time. And his hand work leaves a lot to be desired. That’s good and bad. While it may limit his immediate effectiveness, it is a bit scary to think what he can become once he puts it together.

Gaillard can also be a solid pass rusher, with quickness that will give inside blockers trouble. Again, he must improve his hand use to develop better moves, but the potential is there.

Gaillard has some special ability, and if he puts it all together he can be a beast.