University of Tennessee Athletics
Gilliam Named To AP All-Bowl Team
January 08, 2015 | Football
NEW YORK -- Tennessee offensive lineman Jacob Gilliam has been named to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team after a warrior effort as he started at right tackle with a torn ACL and broken left hand in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Brian Rice's feature on the Farragut native following the bowl captured the essence of Gilliam's warrior mentality.
By Brian Rice
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
UTSports.com
In fact, there was probably nothing that could keep him off the field for the TaxSlayer Bowl.
"You could have cut off my arm," he said. "But that probably wouldn't have stopped me."
Gilliam injured his hand in Tennessee's first practice in Jacksonville on Monday afternoon. It was the latest in a series of unbelievable moments for Gilliam in the 2014 season. The redshirt senior earned a scholarship for his final season, then earned a starting job. There was the torn ACL in the season opener against Utah State, then the triumphant return against Ole Miss.
He said he was angry when he injured the hand, but his mood quickly improved when trainers told him he would still be able to play, albeit with a giant wrap covering his hand.
It was not his first experience with the club. Gilliam sustained a similar injury to his other hand last season and played in two games with the same club-like wrap. He knew what he was getting into, and he knew what he had to do to make up for the limitation.
"It wasn't very comfortable, it was a little sweaty, but it didn't affect me," he said. "I mean, I couldn't hold with that hand, but besides that I couldn't tell that it hurt me. I just held with the other hand the whole time."
He put on the brace, and hit the "I Will Give My All For Tennessee" sign in the locker room one more time.
"Every time, even before I got hurt, that always meant a lot to me," Gilliam said. "I always hit it right on the `all' to make sure that I got it and I remember what I'm supposed to be giving for this team and this state."
Playing through another injury gave him another unbelievable moment. Most of the starting offense had come out of the game late in the fourth quarter, but there was Gilliam, back out to start another drive. He stayed in one more play, one more time for Tennessee.
"That was fun, I wanted to do that for myself," he said. "I didn't do a lot for myself, I did it all for Tennessee. But I wanted to get that one last play. I teared up a little bit when I realized I was done, I just wanted to get one more before I was finished."
Then, it was time for a celebration.
"Euphoric would be the word that I would use to describe it," he said of the on-field celebration. "That will go down as one of the top three moments of my life, winning that bowl game for Tennessee, for myself and for all of my teammates."
