The Lone Star

Makiah Gilmer 6-1 180- DB- Juanita HS- Sr

This is the guy that doesn’t need all of the praise, stardom, or limelight but he does demand respect. Juanita’s senior defensive back Makiah Gilmer doesn’t care about being the headliner of every recruiting website or news article. All he cares about is the Rebels winning a state championship and leaving a legacy that will be defined as greatness. Known for his “knock your face in the dirt” hard hitting, Makiah is the heartbeat behind the Rebels defense. “Football is my life. Its my love, I want to use football to provide for my family one day and I am a team player and just do my job,” says the strong willed Gilmer who is the one of the rebels senior captains. Gilmer is also the teams leading tackler in the secondary and compares his style of play to former University of Washington cornerback and 2015 first round draft pick, Marcus Peters.

Makiah plays determined to gain respect from every team he goes up against. His ability to fill gaps in the run game is impressive as he has a knack for making plays and always seems to be around the ball. He is consistently defined as a player that seems to play with a chip on his shoulder. This past winter/spring Makiah shined on the national stage while playing on the FSP 7on7 National Travel team where he grabbed All Tournament Honorable Mention honors at the Las Vegas Pylon 7v7 national championships. Makiah was the team’s top safety prospect, while being on a team with 5 teammates all committed to schools in power five conferences. He proved he was among the elite talent in the country every time he stepped on the field. When talking to Makiah about his experience about playing with Team FSP he stated. “I learned a ton on coverages, and technique and all the small details I learned allowed me to just be able to play fast and not think “

Makiah is committed to play his college ball at Utah State and chose the Aggies over UNLV, Montana State, and Eastern Washington. The Aggies have a long list of NFL players that have wore the navy and white including FSP alum and NFL All-Pro Seattle Seahawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner. “They recruited me to play corner from the start. They didn’t sleep on me. I’m a big Bobby Wagner fan and I want to start my own path.” – Makiah Gilmer

The Rebels who won big last week 57-7 against Columbia River, are more than ready for the

showdown tomorrow night. Makiah knows how important this game is and he understands that the winner of this game will be playing in the Tacoma Dome for a chance to play for a state title. He is honestly most excited for just another opportunity to play with his teammates.

“The kid has “grit” and there’s certain things you can’t coach in players and grit is one of them.” Says FSP 7on7 Defensive Back coach Darrin Harris. Darrin, whom was a three-year starter at safety for the University of Washington (2004-2009). Darrin knows all about hard hitting, as he was one of the most feared hitters in the Pac 10 conference. “You could watch him play 7v7 and he is always making plays, getting picks, or breaking up passes, he’s always in the right place. Then you turn on his film and see how hard he hits and that’s what makes him that much more impressive.” –Darrin Harris

Makiah will play his college ball at Utah State next fall so with all this talent sitting in the suburbs of Kirkland how do the hometown Huskies miss out on another local division one prospect? “I like them their cool, but it wasn’t my goal to play there. They showed more interest in me to play corner after I committed to the Aggies.”

None the less, representing UW or not, what we do know is that Makiah will be playing Division 1 football next fall and has a bright future with a ceiling that is far from being reached. “He still has so much more room to grow. Once he gets into the weight room this off-season he is going to be that much better and I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes down there and plays as a freshman because I know he will be consistent and all the kids that have trained at FSP in the past after their senior season’s put themselves in a great position to play as true freshman.”- Tracy Ford CEO of Ford Sports Performance.