Josh Heupel provides latest on wideout Cedric Tillman ahead of Kentucky matchup

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is still keeping Cedric Tillman’s status under wraps as the Vols near their home matchup on Saturday versus No. 19 Kentucky. Heupel told reporters on Thursday that Tillman’s status is still TBD and that the star wideout will have some say in whether he sees the field on Saturday or not.

“We were debating whether that would be the first question or one of the last, I thought you’d just put out one of the previous quotes from the last weeks,” Heupel joked with the media. “We’ll see where he’s at when we get through tomorrow and on game day.

“Again, Cedric’s going to be part of that decision and the medical staff. We’re doing what’s best for him in the long term and the short term.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Tillman has not played in an SEC game yet to this season, suffering an ankle injury against Akron on Sept. 17. He had developed a special chemistry with Hendon Hooker before going down, having 17 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown in just three games.

Last season, Tillman had 64 catches and his first 1,000-yard year. He may not have time to reach his 12-touchdown total from a season ago, but there are still three games versus ranked opponents ahead that he could factor into.

Heupel breaks down importance of controlling tempo

On Wednesday, Josh Heupel discussed the varying tempo of his own squad and the Wildcats. It will be one of the most important elements of the SEC East showdown this weekend.

“You understand that the game itself will probably be a limited number of possession-game,” Heupel said. “The contrary styles in this one, your possessions will be less frequent. You have to maximize your opportunities. That’s true whether you’re getting 10-11 possessions a game or getting 14. The tempo in this one, obviously we have to get drives started, we have to play ahead of the chains. That’s one of the things in the middle part of the game last year that we didn’t do.

“Defensively, we have to do a good job on the line of scrimmage and get off the field on 3rd down. Last year, we gave up a lot of long extended drives. We have to do well on early downs on defense.”

The Volunteers have the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, posting 50.1 points per game. They manage to score those sums while having one of the lowest time of possession averages in the country.

Kentucky and Mark Stoops will be trying to slow the game down and limit the number of times the Vols hold the football. The Wildcats defense hasn’t given up more than 24 points to any opponent this season.