Liberty football began spring practice on Friday, and they also have continued to look into the transfer portal. Over the weekend, the Flames welcomed Tulsa OL transfer X’Zavea Gadlin to campus for a visit. As part of his time on campus, he attended the Liberty men’s basketball game against Bellarmine in the ASUN Tournament semifinals on Saturday night.
Gadlin is a 6-4, 314-pound offensive lineman who started 22 games for the Golden Hurricanes, primarily at guard. Originally from Arlington, Texas where he attended Mansfield Summit High School, Gadlin had offers out of high school from Tulsa, Navy, New Mexico State, North Texas, Texas State, and Tulane. He would be able to join the Flames for the 2022 season with two years of eligibility remaining.
He played in four games as a true freshman in 2018, as he took a redshirt. In 2019, as a redshirt-freshman, Gadlin played in and started all 12 games with all of his starts coming at right tackle. He opted out of the 2020 season before playing in all 13 games this past season as Tulsa went 7-6 with a win in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. He played most of the season at both right and left guard while also getting action at center. Gadlin graded out at over 80% in eight of his nine starts this past season.
In high school, he played all of the offensive line positions with the exception of center as a junior and senior, posting 70 knockdowns during his senior campaign while helping his team post a 10-2 record. His uncle, Orion Stewart, played football at Baylor and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
