At 6-foot-6, senior Darrion Gilliam is a huge target for Mount Carmel’s quarterbacks. Tall and lanky, he can get high in the air and snag balls other receivers can only hope to grab.
But consider this. Gilliam is a tough blocker, too, and that contribution is just as important for a team on the doorstep of a second consecutive Class 7A state championship.
“What I love about him is you can tell how much a kid loves football with what he does with the ball not in his hands,” Caravan coach Jordan Lynch said. “Him blocking, caring about his teammates scoring, very unselfish kid, never worried about touches and things like that.
“He’s almost more excited to block than anything.”
Be advised, however, that Gilliam can be just as dangerous with the ball in Mount Carmel’s zone-read offense, as evidenced by his seven catches for 115 yards and a 36-yard touchdown Saturday during a 64-26 victory over Batavia in the state semifinals.
Gilliam, a Kent State recruit, entered high school as a gangly kid who worked hard to earn a starting spot at receiver as a sophomore. He has been a part of 34 victories, with one game to go for the Caravan (13-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday against Downers Grove North (11-2) at Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium.
His influences have been many, and not just his head coach, a 2009 graduate.
There were the players he looked up to like Lynch’s brother, Justin, a former Mount Carmel quarterback who is now a running back at Northern Illinois. There were also players who are now assistants like receivers coach Jack Ramsey.
“They’ve been pushing me for a long time,” Gilliam said of Ramsey and the Caravan’s coaching staff. “Nobody wants to come to practice every day, of course, but they made the position get easier.
“They knew I could do it. They kept pushing me and pushing me. Even if I was sore, they kept pushing me because they knew I could do it.”
In fact, it’s gotten to the point where Gilliam has been so effective at his position that he’s acquired a unique nickname — Slim Reaper, a takeoff on Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant.
Junior quarterback Jack Elliott loves it. Elliott has completed 197 of 292 passes for 2,861 yards and 32 TDs. Gilliam has 13 catches for 586 yards and 10 TDs.
“I mean, look at him, he’s just out there killing defenses,” Elliott said. “He does a really good job blocking, even when the play is not going to him and he’s the backside receiver.
“He takes zero plays off, and he’s putting people in the dirt when the play is 30 yards down the field.”
What about that nickname?
“I’m slim, but I’m 205 (pounds) and it doesn’t look like it,” said Gilliam, who started in football at age 5 with the Windy City Dolphins.
Gilliam played mostly defense before transitioning to receiver as a sophomore at Mount Carmel. And he’s come a long way since then.
The recruiting process, which culminated in his commitment to Kent State, started slow, by his own admission. But once it got going, he was as busy as could be.
“Kent State was my first offer, and after they offered me, that’s when like 10 other schools started offering me right after,” said Gilliam, who is planning to study either architecture or finance. “Kent State has been in touch with me since sophomore year.”
Now, he’s looking at his final high school football game on Saturday. What’s he going to remember about that experience when he moves on and into adult life?
“Not even playing the games,” Gilliam said, nodding. “I’ll remember mostly spending time with my teammates outside of practice. They are what made this happen.
“We did this as a team.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.