Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker looked to his right and knew what to do. Play call? Who needs a play call?
Hooker knew exactly where he was going to throw the ball for the winning score in Tennessee’s 34-27 overtime win against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Hooker saw his star receiver, Cedric Tillman, who is 6-foot-5, lined up on Panther defensive back M.J. Devonshire, who is 5-foot-11. The decision was made. Tillman was ready.
“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time moments,” Tillman said with a smile after the game. “In all seriousness, I knew my number was going to be called. Obviously, I wasn’t too happy with some of the plays I put on the field, especially some of the passes I could make plays on, 99-percent of the time I make them.”
Said Hooker, “I just saw his matchup and he kind of had a little smaller guy on him so I just went to him.”
Hooker and Tillman didn’t connect on a jump ball as you might expect against a smaller receiver. Tillman actually drove Devonshire back and ran a stop route that caused Devonshire to slip and fall.
“Saw the guys leverage so I went inside,” Tillman said. “Hendon made a helluva play, so I just attacked it.”
Tillman was targeted countless times, but only reeled in nine passes for 162 yards. Yeah, only nine catches for 162 yards. That’s considered a bit of an off day by Hooker and Tillman’s standards. Most would take that and be happy.
“Unfortunately, you know we made some mistakes, both offense and defense,” Tillman said. “I made some mistakes before the end of that game, but at the end of the day, when the clock is still ticking, we’ve still got to play. Great team win. Proud of everybody.”
The Vols sputtered early in the game and at various points throughout the contest against Pitt. Tillman’s confidence to make a play never wained.
“I told him ‘I got you,’” Tillman said when asked what he told Hooker before the game was decided. “I know the offense isn’t going how it’s supposed to be going. I blame myself. When I’m making plays, I think everybody sees that the offense is going good. I just told everybody ‘I got you all. I got it.’”
Tillman said he never doubted that he and Hooker could connect with the game on the line.
“He always has trust in me, no matter what,” Tillman said. “It doesn’t matter if I get guarded one play; he’s coming back to the next one. We talk on the sidelines. Sometimes maybe frustrating conversations, but he has trust in me and I have trust in him. He’s always going to throw me the ball.”
