Tennessee football should rest Cedric Tillman at LSU
It’s not that Tennessee football won’t need Cedric Tillman the rest of the year. They will. However, when the Vols visit the LSU Tigers, they have the personnel to win without him once again, just as they did with a dominating offense against the Florida Gators two weeks ago.
Tillman had ankle surgery after his injury against the Akron Zips, and Josh Heupel said in his Monday press conference that he has been limited in practice. That suggests he could play but wouldn’t be 100 percent. For this game, there’s no reason to play him.
Bru McCoy had over 100 yards and a touchdown in that game. Ramel Keyton, starting in place of Tillman, had over 60 yards, including a key diving catch. Jalin Hyatt had over 50 yards in the slot. Both tight ends went for over 40 yards.
Heupel has a variety of weapons he can turn to for help when facing LSU, and that was blatantly clear two weeks ago. What will also help Tennessee football is the defensive scheme of LSU under defensive coordinator Matt House.
A lot of LSU’s success is predicated on playing press man coverage and then trying to bring pressure. Against teams you might consider a bit softer, like the Mississippi State Bulldogs, that would work. However, UT’s receivers are too physical to let press man coverage hold them up.
Another reason LSU beat Mississippi State specifically is Will Rogers’ lack of mobility. He was sacked four times in that game. Sure, they also looked good last week against the Auburn Tigers, but Auburn is an awful team offensively anyway.
As we know, the Vols aren’t an awful offensive team, and Hendon Hooker is a lot more mobile than Rogers. That will allow him to avoid the pressure LSU naturally brings. It’s actually another game, similar to Florida, where the Vols should use designed runs for Hooker.
Where Tillman brings Tennessee football its biggest advantage is his ability to win jump balls. However, the Vols won’t be stuck in too many of those situations, as LSU’s style is pretty much knocking the receivers off their routes early but not staying with them.
Mostly, the game will come down to breaking free of press man coverage, Hooker’s ability to avoid the blitz and how effectively the tight ends and slot receivers are used on check downs and screen calls. None of that has anything to do with Tillman.
It’s much more crucial that the Vols have him ready to go when they face the Kentucky Wildcats at the end of October. That’s the game they should eye his return. Although having him back against the Alabama Crimson Tide would be a boost, why bring him back for a sure loss in a non-divisional game, even Bama?
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Between those two, Tennessee football faces the UT-Martin Skyhawks. That’s a sure win no matter what. As a result, the next game where Tillman’s skills specifically can be the difference between winning and losing is likely Kentucky. It makes perfect sense to save him until then.