Wilson grad excited to return to home state, coach cornerbacks at Penn
2026 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Isaiah Gilmore says that the most influential people in his life have been coaches. Now, as a football coach at the University of Pennsylvania, he wants to help shape the lives of young people.
“Coaching is something I’ve want to do since my sophomore or junior year in college,” said the former Wilson star. “I knew that whenever football ended for me, I was pretty set on the fact that I wanted to coach.”
Football came to an end for Gilmore a little sooner than he would have liked. Several months after transferring to the University of New Hampshire in 2024 he suffered a knee injury that ended his career – but not his association with football.
He transitioned during the 2024 season from a safety to a grad assistant on the Wildcats’ staff. In 2025 he was a full-time part of the New Hampshire staff, as nickels coach.
When Wildcats head coach Rick Santos was named head coach at Penn in December he brought Gilmore and five other members of his New Hampshire staff to Philadelphia.
Gilmore will coach cornerbacks for the Quakers. His primary recruiting area with be eastern Pennsylvania, including Berks County and the Lancaster-Lebanon League area.
Gilmore knows a little about secondary play.
At Wilson he was an All-State pick as a senior in 2018 and named Defensive Back of the Year in Section 1 Lancaster-Lebanon League. He helped the Bulldogs win a Section 1 title.
Following that season he was picked to play in the PSFCA East-West game.
Gilmore went on to play four seasons at Shippensburg, where he was a captain and in 2023 an all-conference pick.
With a year of eligibility remaining he entered the NCAA transfer portal and landed a scholarship at New Hampshire.
Santos replaced Ray Priore, who resigned in November after 11 seasons as Quakers head coach and 39 years with the program. Penn last won a share of the Ivy League title in 2016.
Penn finished 6-4 this season, with a 4-3 mark in the Ivy League.
Santos enjoyed success at New Hampshire, where his team reached the FCS playoff appearances three times in the last four seasons. He went 37-24 overall in five seasons.
Along with Gilmore, Santos brought tight ends coach Ed Borden, quarterbacks Tommy Herion, offensive line coach Ryan Wilson, linebackers coach Nick Della Jacono and director of player personnel Justin Trevisani with him to Penn.
