Gallimore is a `bear running' for Sooners
ARLINGTON, Texas— Lincoln Riley's voice echoed from speakers just to the right of where Neville Gallimore sat at Big 12 Media Days. To Gallimore's left, teammates Creed Humphrey, Kenneth Murray a nd CeeDee Lamb drew crowds of t heir own, eventually rivaling Riley's.
Gallimore wasn't ignored at the preseason event — just overlooked. The defensive tackle from Ontario, Canada, consistently graded as one of OU's top defensive players last season, but his dirty work in the trenches lost appreciation as it contributed to an otherwise porous defense.
“I feel like there's a lot of things overlooked, but that's fine with me,” Gallimore said. “At the end of the day, i t's about what you put on that field.”
Gallimore was a first-team All-Big 12 selection last year, according to data-driven website Pro Football Focus. He was the only OU defensive player to earn that distinction. Gallimore collected 23 quarterback pressures. His run defense grade was 83.3, according to Pro Football Focus.
By comparison, first-round NFL draft pick Quinn en Williams earned a nation-best 95.3 run defense grade last season at Alabama. Seeing him in last year's Orange Bowl left a mark on OU's NFL-caliber offensive line, and Lincoln Riley as well.
“That was such a factor in the game, us having to double team him so much,” Riley said of Williams. “The guy had
maybe one or two tackles, and he totally changed the game. A great interior defensive line man does that. They don't necessarily have the impact of their game measured in t he stats. Neville, he's extremely explosive. He's learning to do that more consistently.”
Listed at 330 pounds last season, Gallimore said he's entering this season just below 300 pounds — the lightest he's been since 11th grade.
“On top of that, this is the strongest, most conditioned I've been,” he said. “It's definitely helped me out. My clothes fit a little better.”
That combination of size, strength and speed was good enough to earn Gallimore the No. 2 ranking in Bruce Feldman's “Freaks List” f or The Athletic. Feldman wrote that Gallimore bench presses 500 pounds, squats 800 pounds and runs a 4.76 40-yard dash.
OU center Creed Humphrey, who often matches up with Gallimore in practice, confirmed what reads like urban legend.
“Neville's such a freak athlete,” Humphrey said. “Anytime I watch him in the weight room, or doing different running drills, I'm always blown away by it. Physically, he's one of the most dominant guys I've ever gone against.”
Gallimore recorded a career-high 50 tackles last season after 28 as a sophomore. Three sacks and five tackles for a loss were also career highs.
Alex Grinch's “Speed D” could unleash a new version of Gallimore, who Riley described as a “bear running.”
Oklahoma' s new defensive coordinator has emphasized a change in philosophy more so than an altered scheme, and Gallimore has bought in.
“(Grinch) has given us the green light to be in attack mode,” Gallimore said. “As a defensive line, that's what you want to hear… It' s the kind of scheme that holds everyone accountable. If you're not selling out, it shows. But if you are going full speed, playing fast and showing that you care about what you do, that also shows. There's no hiding with Coach Grinch.”
“Neville's such a freak athlete. Anytime I watch him in the weight room, or doing different running drills, I'm always blown away by it. Physically, he's one of the most dominant guys I've ever gone against.” OU center Creed Humphrey