Tennessee football: Cedric Tillman is Vols’ biggest overachiever in over a decade

Generally, players who earn scholarships to Tennessee football and produce at a high level with just a two-star rating on Rivals or no rating on ESPN are specialists. Kickers, punters and long-snappers fit that mold.

Offensive and defensive two-stars or unrated players are rarely taken, and coaches usually take them on a glimmer of hope that they can develop into something over the years. Cedric Tillman came to UT from Nevada as one of those players.

In 2018, Jeremy Pruitt added Tillman to his first recruiting class on National Signing Day. He was a late commitment, and he was a two-star on Rivals and unrated on ESPN. Although 247Sports had him as a three-star, expectations were still low for the Las Vegas, Nev. prospect.

Three years later, in Josh Heupel’s first year as Tennessee football’s head coach, Tillman has blossomed into a superstar. Against the Georgia Bulldogs, a historically great defense and the No. 1 team in the nation, he was one bright spot, coming away with 10 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown in a 41-17 loss.

For the year, despite Heupel’s offense being friendlier to receivers with speed rather than true wideouts, Tillman now leads the team in catches with 46 and yards with 725 while tying Velus Jones Jr. and JaVonta Payton as team leaders in receiving touchdowns with six apiece. Jones and Payton are more big play guys, using their speed and agility. Tillman just wins one-on-one battles.

Ramel Keyton, Jalin Hyatt and Jimmy Calloway all came more highly touted than Tillman. The same holds true for Jerrod Means and Malachi Wideman, two players who have since transferred out. However, somehow, Tillman has become Tennessee football’s go-to wideout.

What made the recruiting experts miss on this guy? Well, he was a late bloomer. Playing for Clark County’s Bishop Gorman High School, Tillman missed his sophomore season with a broken forearm and then grew four inches as a senior, reach his current 6’3″ frame, according to Rivals.

That means Tillman spent his junior season, the year prospects start receiving the most evaluation, under 6’0″ while recovering from an injury. Add in the fact that he didn’t play in an area known for producing elite high school talent, and it’s easy to see why he was overlooked.

Taking into account what he has done, it’s safe to say Tillman is one of Tennessee football’s biggest overachievers in at least a decade. The last two-star on Rivals to make this type of impact on UT was linebacker Dontavis Sapp, who played from 2010 to 2013 and started every game in 2013, finishing third on the team in tackles and second in tackles for a loss.

Linebacker has traditionally been the position in general where players overachieve. Ellix Wilson and Ryan Karl from the Phillip Fulmer era are two other players during this century to overachieve like Tillman has, as they were regular starters in 2008 and 2006 respectively.

However, none of those guys was the best player at their position the year they blossomed. Karl played with Marvin Mitchell and Jerod Mayo. Wilson played with Rico McCoy. Sapp played with Herman Lathers and A.J. Johnson. Also, they all became regulars their senior year.

Meanwhile, Tillman is a redshirt junior who has two years of eligibility left, and he may be the Vols’ best receiver already. His production is better than anybody else’s on the team right now. He became just the ninth UT player to ever hit 200 yards in the game last Saturday, the fourth this century and the first since Cordarrelle Patterson did it against the Troy Trojans in 2012.

Ironically, one of those other players to hit 200 yards a game was a walk-on, so he came with seemingly less recruiting hype with Tillman. That player was Kelley Washington, who set what remains the school record with 256 receiving yards in 2001 against the LSU Tigers.

To be fair, Washington was a unique case, as he was a walk-on since he played Minor League Baseball for four years. Expectations for him were still high, so his production was not as much of a breakout shock as Tillman’s was.

Simply put, Tennessee football got a steal in Tillman. Credit Pruitt and Tyson Helton for at least luring him to Rocky Top. Even before the 200-yard game, he was a model of consistency and a regular playmaker for the Vols. If he stays another year, he could become lethal.