Off The Hook Sports continues its 2022 Tennessee football preseason preview on the top 25 impact players for the Vols this upcoming season.
Coming in at No. 2 is redshirt senior wide receiver Cedric Tillman
Past performance
If history has told us one thing, it’s to keep an eye on Tennessee’s newest three-star linebacker commit Will Stallings.
Reason: His high school, Bishop Gorman, has already taken a low three-star/two-star prospect and made him a star at the SEC level. We’re talking of course about Tillman, who was Tennessee’s top receiver in an electrifying offense. He was Hendon Hooker’s ‘I’m sure Ced is down there somewhere’ guy in 2021.
Tillman is the first Vol since Justin Hunter in 2012 to total more than 1,000 yards receiving. He finished the year with 64 receptions for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s good enough for fourth all-time in receiving yards in a single season and tied for second for most touchdowns in a single season.
Which, heading into the season, would have seemed impossible. Tillman came out of nowhere.
Prior to 2021, Tillman had caught just eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns in two seasons. Tillman surpassed two of those superlatives in one game against Georgia in 2021, snagging 10 balls for 200 yards and a touchdown.
Tillman was named to the All-SEC first team by Athlon sports in June.
Opportunities
Cedric Tillman had one of the best years a Tennessee receiver has ever had last year, but its not crazy to think he’ll break more personal and team records in 2022.
In fact, it’s even crazier to say he won’t do it, barring injuries. Tennessee returns only one receiver with more than 20 catches from last year: Jalin Hyatt. Velus Jones and JaVonta Payton are NFL bound, and Tennessee will be missing a duo that combined for 80 receptions, 13 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards.
In fact, it would probably be an area of concern if Tillman and Hyatt, who is expected to have a breakout year in 2022, on the team this fall. Tennessee also adds USC transfer and former top 10 prospect Bru McCoy.
But its still the Cedric Tillman show in Knoxville. Hooker has developed quite the dynamic between he and Tillman, who is deceptively quick for his size. As long as he is healthy, he’s going to get his. That much you can guarantee.
Tennessee has a lot of young talent this year, and as a redshirt senior Tillman is in a position to lead that group – both on and off the field. The Vols possess a fast-paced offense, Tillman knows better than most what it takes to thrive in that system. It may not explicitly be his job to teach, but it needs to be his job to lead by example this upcoming year.
Hear it from…
What’s most incredible about Tillman is his story. By all accounts, Tillman was not supposed to be Tennessee’s WR1 under Josh Heupel in year 1.
All of a sudden, he was catching every 50/50 ball. He was bulldozing receivers off quick routes and his YAC skyrocketed as a result. It’s already been said he had one of the best single seasons a Vol receiver ever has.
What else is there to improve upon?
“Cedric Tillman is a great athlete. He’s a big and strong kid, an uber competitor,” wide receivers coach Kodi Burns said in spring. “His next thing is the detail and the fine detail of becoming a route runner. Before we got here, he didn’t play a bunch and he knows that. Really, coming into the offseason, it’s a lot of detail work at the top of routes and releases for him to become a complete receiver and truly be able to get open and separate against any coverage or leverage.”
In reality, Tillman is already an NFL wide receiver. That fine tuning Burns alludes to could be the difference between a second-round paycheck and a first round paycheck.
