Cedric Tillman – Page 14 – Syndication Server

Cedric Tillman discusses working on details ahead of 2021 season

Cedric Tillman discusses working on details ahead of 2021 season.

Cedric Tillman enters his redshirt junior season at Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver has appeared in 25 games, totaling eight receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns since 2018.

Tillman met with media ahead of Tennessee’s season-opening game against Bowling Green and discussed his time during fall training camp.

“For me, I feel like I’ve really grown this camp,” Tillman said. “I’ve been working on the little details, just doing what coach (Kodi) Burns and other coaches on the staff want me to do. I think I’ve really taken the next step and all my teammates have taken that next step, too.”

Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. EDT (SEC Network) between the Vols and Falcons.

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Josh Heupel details Tennessee’s skill players stepping up this spring

Josh Heupel details Tennessee’s skill players stepping up this spring.

Tennessee practiced for the 11th time this spring on Saturday.

Saturday’s practice took place at Neyland Stadium and was Tennessee’s second scrimmage this spring.

First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media following the Vols’ scrimmage. He discussed which skill players that have stepped up during Tennessee’s two spring scrimmages.

“I don’t know that it’s been the same guys,” Heupel said. “I think you see guys periodically throughout practice or throughout the scrimmage make some plays. I think at the running back position, Jabari Small has done a fantastic job. He understands how we want to play. He understands what we’re doing. He’s been good without the ball in his hands and not just with the ball in his hands at the running back position. I feel like he’s in a really good spot, and he does some really good things. Dee Beckwith has had some flashes at the running back position, as well. He’s starting to understand how to play that position. A unique guy in that he’s played multiple positions in a short amount of time coming out of high school, having played some quarterback as well. He’s grown into a guy that is understating the running back position, learning how to play with pad leverage. His size is a positive, but he’s also got to learn how to get pad under pad, and he’s starting to do that.

“The tight ends, that group have all made plays. (Austin) Pope coming back off of injury, he’s done some really good things, obviously, he’s the most mature guy in the room or has the most experience. Princeton Fant has made plays. (Jacob) Warren has made plays. That’s a group that has great depth and a lot of consistency in it. They are able to play in the box and outside. At the wide receiver position, I’ve talked about those guys before, but I like that group as far as their understanding and competitive nature. Velus Jones Jr., (Cedric) Tillman have made some plays. Jalin Hyatt has made some plays, getting back on the practice field here and done a really good job.”

Tennessee will conclude spring practices with its annual Chevrolet Orange & White Game on April 24 at Neyland Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. EDT.

Trio of wide receivers gaining trust in Josh Heupel’s offense

Trio of wide receivers gaining trust in Josh Heupel’s offense.

Tennessee has practiced five times this spring.

Following the Vols’ fifth spring practice, first-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media and discussed the wide receivers unit.

Heupel mentioned wide receivers Jimmy Calloway, Velus Jones Jr. and Cedric Tillman are gaining trust within the offense.

“I think we’re going to continue to develop and grow depth out there,” Heupel said. “Tillman’s done a fantastic job of just being really purposeful in his work habits out on the practice field and he’s playing faster as he’s getting more comfortable, day one to day five. Velus has done a tremendous job. He’s a really strong competitor, brings a great amount of leadership to that wide receiver group every day, in the meeting rooms and that’s transitioned out onto the practice field as well. Jimmy Calloway is having a good spring and good start here, a guy that’s learning how to play with the technique in what we’re asking him to do, getting better every day, but has the ability to extend the field and really make some plays down the field.

“I would never use the word satisfied or completely happy with everything that’s going on at any position when you’re five days into spring ball, but I like the purpose that those guys are practicing with. They’re starting to gain trust in what we’re doing and starting to play with a lot better technique, which will give them the ability to go win down the football field. They’ve created some big plays in the passing game.”

Below are Calloway, Jones Jr. and Tillman by the numbers during their careers at Tennessee.

Cedric Tillman ‘should be a very productive player’ for Vols in 2020

Cedric Tillman ‘should be a very productive player’ for Vols in 2020.

KNOXVILLE — Cedric Tillman enters his redshirt sophomore season in 2020.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver has appeared in 15 games for the Vols over the last two seasons. He has totaled five receptions, 57 yards and scored one touchdown.

During the second week of fall training camp, Tennessee offensive coordinator discussed Tillman’s growth this offseason.

“He’s fine,” Chaney said of Tillman on a Zoom call with reporters. “He’s been battling a little hamstring early on, but he’s doing what he needs to do. Cedric’s a big, strong kid with strong hands.

“I feel like he should be a very productive player for us this fall. I’m pleased with Ced. The kids laugh, Ced is one of my favorites. Ced is my man. So, Ced and I are tight, and I get a kick out of our relationship. I like the young man. He’s getting better and better every day he walks out on the field.”

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020.

KNOXVILLE — Wide receiver was a position of strength for Tennessee in 2020.

With two talented and experienced seniors in Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings, the Vols lost over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns of production from those two players alone.

Jennings was considered the heart and soul of Tennessee’s football team, as an unquestioned leader that evolved into one of the most exciting players to watch in the SEC with the ball in his hands.

Now, it’s a new era for Tennessee’s wideouts, and role players in 2019 will need to step up to become go-to options in 2020.

It begins with rising senior Josh Palmer, who is Tennessee’s lead returning receiver in 2020. Palmer showed flashes during his junior campaign, playing third-fiddle to Callaway and Jennings. The Canadian native reeled in 34 passes for 457 yards and 1 touchdown.

While no other receiver returns that has the numbers of Palmer, there is talented but unproven depth in wide receivers coach Tee Martin’s unit. Former four-star prospect Ramel Keyton only caught four passes in his freshman season, but two came in the Gator Bowl win over Indiana to total 60 yards. In fact, Tennessee was able to get a slight preview of what’s to come in the bowl game as Palmer and Keyton led the Vols in receiving. Palmer caught six passes for 68 yards.

Among some of the unknown quantities in Tennessee’s wide receivers room is a former defensive back in Deangelo Gibbs. Having never played wide receiver at the collegiate level, Gibbs initially went to Georgia as a highly-touted defensive back and transferred to Tennessee in the offseason before the 2019 campaign.

Gibbs had to sit out the season due to transfer ineligibility rules, but will be available as a wide receiver in 2020. Since taking over at Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt has not been afraid to switch players from different positions, and it is clear he and his staff believe the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior has the talent and ball skills to contribute to the Vols at wide receiver in 2020.

Even with the possible NFL talent Tennessee had in Callaway and Jennings in 2019, one thing this unit has missed is a player with pure, straight-line speed that can take the top off of SEC defenses.

Tennessee took a step to remedy that in early January, bringing in former USC wideout Velus Jones Jr. as a graduate transfer.

Jones was recruited by Tennessee out of high school, and played for Tee Martin when Martin was coaching wide receivers at USC. Although he did not consistently crack the wide receiver rotation in Southern Cal, Jones racked up nearly 2,000 kick return yards and will be certainly utilized in Knoxville as he plays out his final season of eligibility.

Speaking of speed, another player that excites Tennessee’s coaching staff is incoming four-star prospect Jalin Hyatt out of South Carolina. Hyatt helped his Dutch Fork High School team to a state championship in 2019, hauling in 66 passes for 1,361 yards and 26 touchdowns. Expect Hyatt to contribute for Tennessee in 2020, along with four-star Georgia prospect Jimmy Calloway, who joins Hyatt in the 2020 class as a versatile, athletic option.

Also returning for Tennessee in 2020 is Brandon Johnson, who redshirted his junior season for the Vols after only appearing in four games. Many forget Johnson led Tennessee in receiving during the Vols’ abysmal 2017 4-8 campaign under Butch Jones, catching 37 passes for 482 yards and one touchdown.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native will return as an experienced key cog in the 2020 wide receiver rotation.

Finally, 6-foot-3, 211-pound wideout Cedric Tillman returns to Knoxville for his redshirt sophomore season and will compete for more reps after being buried under the depth chart in 2020.

Tennessee’s wide receivers will have a completely new look in Jeremy Pruitt’s third season. 2019 saw a top-heavy unit that had experienced, big bodies who could high-point the football and shed tacklers. In 2020, the Vols appear to have a deeper, albeit inexperienced rotation with more contributors and pure speed.

It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Jim Chaney tinkers with this new crop of players, but the primary question is not who will catch the most passes for Tennessee in 2020, but who will be throwing the ball?

As the Vols prepare for spring football, figuring out this team’s starting quarterback will have a direct impact on the success of the wide receiver position.

It will not be a question of talent for Tennessee’s wide receivers in 2020. This group will need to gain experience and find out a true number one option to replace the outgoing Callaway and Jennings.