Chargers Dip Back Into Notre Dame, Draft Safety Alohi Gilman In Sixth Round
Once a two-star recruit from Hawai'i and transfer from Navy, Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman overcame improbable odds to become a professional football player.
Never considered an elite athlete, it was Gilman’s intuition and leadership abilities that allowed him to thrive first at Navy and then as a two-year starter and captain at Notre Dame. Those same traits led him to the NFL.
Gilman was drafted in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Chargers. He was the No. 186 overall pick and the sixth Notre Dame player selected this year. In Los Angeles, Gilman joins former Notre Dame teammates Drue Tranquill and Jerry Tillery, who the Chargers drafted in 2019. Tillery was their first-round pick. They also drafted former Irish defensive lineman Isaac Rochell in 2017.
With a 4.60-second 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Combine, Gilman’s speed didn’t impact his draft stock much in Indianapolis, but he did receive positive buzz when he was the only player to pick up trash at Lucas Oil Stadium once the workouts were finished.
Per Spotrac, Gilman's rookie deal will be four years and a total of $2.82 million.
As a senior, Gilman (5-10, 201 pounds) started all 13 games and made 74 tackles with one interception, which came against Virginia in September.
“They liked to play him at strong safety in base, at the nickel or dime linebacker in sub,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said on the draft broadcast. “A great communicator, he’s highly competitive and will run to the football.
“I just didn’t like how he missed as many tackles as he did, I think he’s a little bit challenged athletically from a one-on-one matchup standpoint against NFL-caliber tight ends and running backs. What you’re going to have to do is find the things he does well, which is do the right thing and then really utilize his instincts.”
Gilman finished his Notre Dame career with 168 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions. He started 26 in his two years as an active player with the Fighting Irish. That doesn’t include the 76 tackles and five pass deflections Gilman had while playing in 14 games as a freshman at Navy, where he helped lead the Midshipmen to a 9-5 record and an appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
A member of the 2015 recruiting class, Gilman spent his first post-high school season in prep school before he burst onto the scene as a freshman at Navy.
There is a good chance he would have finished his collegiate career at Navy in not for a 2017 rule change, which stated that players must serve in the military before turning professional.
Saturday, his decision to transfer paid off.
“My journey has been nothing short of a walk of faith, determination and commitment,” Gilman wrote as in the letter where he declared for the NFL Draft. “In 2017, I took a leap of faith in pursuit of something some may say is ‘unrealistic.’ However, here I am again standing up as a tested man of courage, passion and an insane belief in myself.
“As I have said before, I am a child of God, and through him and tested faith I will continue to walk a written path turning my ‘unrealistic’ dreams into reality!”
In addition to not possessing NFL measurables, Gilman’s erratic final season at Notre Dame also may have hurt his draft stock. He was a tackling machine in 2018, only missing four tackles while playing 66 snaps per game, according to Pro Football Focus. But he followed up that performance with a team-leading 14 missed tackles in 2019.
Nevertheless, as soon as Gilman gets into an NFL camp, his intangibles should have an opportunity to shine once again.
Gilman is Notre Dame’s 45th draft choice of the Brian Kelly era.
Notre Dame's previous 2020 selections are tight end Cole Kmet (second round, Chicago Bears), wide receiver Chase Claypool (second, Pittsburgh Steelers), defensive end Julian Okwara (third, Detroit Lions), cornerback Troy Pride Jr. (fourth, Carolina Panthers) and defensive end Khalid Kareem (fifth round, Cincinnati Bengals).
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