What Tennessee football will miss most with Cedric Tillman out

The worst fears of Tennessee football fans were confirmed on Saturday. Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that go-to wide receiver Cedric Tillman would miss the Vols’ SEC opener against the Florida Gators due to an ankle injury.

Tillman left the first half of the Vols’ matchup with the Akron Zips last week because of that injury and was reported as questionable earlier in the week. He is the Vols’ leading receiver with seven catches for 246 yards and a touchdown.

Last year, Tillman had 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was not the only Tennessee football weapon to leave the game early last week, as Jabari Small also went down. Small practiced this week. Tillman didn’t hide his feelings on Twitter after his injury.

In terms of bodies, wideout is the one position the Vols could afford to lose their top player. We wrote earlier this week that this opens the door for Bru McCoy, and Ramel Keyton is still there too. Keyton has five catches for 114 yards and a score, and McCoy has nine catches for 108 yards and a score.

Then there’s Jalin Hyatt, who has 17 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown, numbers almost identical to Tillman’s.  However, Hyatt plays in the slot, so the focus on replace Tillman comes down to McCoy, Keyton or somebody else.

McCoy and Keyton should be good enough to offset the loss. What will hurt the Vols, though, is Tillman’s ability as the ultimate gamer. Similar to Peerless Price in 1998, Tillman’s scores often come in big moments against crucial teams.

Just two weeks ago, Tillman’s only touchdown on the season so far is what turned out to be the game-winner. It was in overtime on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers, a ranked team, and it came one play after a touchdown run by Hendon Hooker was called back due to a penalty.

Last year, down the stretch of the season, Tillman had a touchdown catch in each of the Vols’ final seven games, and he came away with 10 overall. Although they were losses, his best two games were against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs, when he had seven catches for 152 and to catches for 200 yards respectively.

Tillman’s third best game yardage wise was in the Vols’ Music City Bowl loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, when he had seven catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns. Although all of these were losses, they show that Tillman shows up when it matters and in big moments.

This is what Rocky Top will have the hardest time offsetting. A player who comes through like Tillman for the Vols in such moments isn’t easy to replace, regardless of the physical and production abilities of other receivers. That’s what makes Josh Heupel’s task tougher.

Of course, Hooker himself is a gamer and has proven himself to be pretty clutch for Tennessee football. He will be significantly more tested in this game than he ever has been. Facing Florida without his go-to receiver is truly his chance to make a Heisman statement.