Why Cedric Tillman’s favorite Tennessee football moment on sideline helps NFL Draft stock
At the NFL Combine, Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman was eager to mention the Vols’ long-awaited win over Alabama.
So why is that even remotely surprising?
Well, because Tillman didn’t play in that game. He was on the sideline nursing a serious ankle injury.
His teammate, Jalin Hyatt, scored five touchdowns to beat Alabama. That performance went a long way in Hyatt winning the Biletnikoff Award and entering the NFL Scouting Combine as a projected first-round draft pick.
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So it would seem Tillman might want to steer the conversation to other Tennessee games – you know, games in which played and played well.
But that would be out of character for Tillman. And it would hide some of Tillman’s best intangibles in the eyes of NFL scouts.
“(The ankle injury) was tough, but it’s part of the game. Sometimes freak injuries happen,” Tillman said Friday at the combine in Indianapolis. “But I was there for my team and I was happy. To this day, my favorite moment in my Tennessee career is when we beat Alabama.”
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Tillman is a selfless player. He celebrated Hyatt taking his role as the go-to receiver because it meant beating Alabama en route to the Vols' best season in more than 20 years.
Tillman is a team-oriented player. He didn’t play against Alabama because after suffering the ankle injury against Akron four weeks earlier, he underwent surgery and aggressive rehabilitation so he could return to the lineup later in the season.
Coach Josh Heupel said Tillman chose to have surgery because it “gave him the opportunity to speed up the recovery process.”
Tillman played three of Tennessee’s final five games of the regular season at less than 100% rather than sitting out the season to recover fully for NFL Draft workouts.
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“It’s just the competitor in me. I wanted to come back a few weeks before,” Tillman said. “I did everything I could to try to go out there. I knew I wasn’t quite right, but I wanted to fight for my team. Everybody is nicked up and bruised up towards the back half of the season.
“Hopefully my teammates appreciated it. But that’s just the competitor in me to want to play.”
NFL teams value players that are tough and dedicated to winning. Tillman showed both during his final season with the Vols, even though it didn’t go as he had hoped.
But now he hopes that pays off in the draft. Entering the combine, he’s been projected to go around the third or fourth round.
His stock could rise or fall before the draft, which begins April 27. Tennessee will hold its Pro Day on March 30.
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: Alabama game favorite Cedric Tillman moment
