Josh Heupel provides update on the status of Cedric Tillman, Jaylen McCollough

Josh Heupel provided an update on two key contributors to the Tennessee Volunteers that the team is hoping to get back soon — wide receiver Cedric Tillman and defensive back Jaylen McCollough.

First, Tillman has not played in an SEC game yet to this season, suffering an 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.

McCollough, on the other hand, is not dealing with an injury. The veteran safety was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on Oct. 9, the day after Tennessee’s road win over LSU. McCollough has maintained ‘complete innocence’ regarding the arrest, and has not been available since.

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“Cedric, we’ll continue to evaluate here as he goes through practice this week,” answered Heupel. “Jaylen, you guys saw that the campus part of his process is complete, now it’s just the other part of the process.”

Alas, the update on Tillman and McCollough is more positive than the one the Tennessee coach provided on backup quarterback Tayven Jackson, who suffered an injury late in the Volunteers’ win over UT Martin this past weekend.

“Tayven won’t be available this week, he’ll be out,” added Heupel.

Nevertheless, Tennessee will be hoping to not look ahead to a showdown with Georgia on the horizon, as Kentucky presents a huge challenge this upcoming weekend. Regardless of who’s on the field, the Volunteers will be looking to take care of business come Saturday.

Tennessee AD Danny White: ‘It’s been way too long’ since Vols were in title race down stretch

Moreover, No. 3 Tennessee rocked the college football world last weekend with a 52-49 upset of now-No. 6 Alabama, entering the College Football Playoff picture in a major way with the massive win in Knoxville, Tenn.

For athletics director Danny White, the win was a quick realization of the vision he had when he hired head coach Josh Heupel. The Volunteers will be playing for an SEC East division title over the next few weeks, with games against No. 19 Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia looming.

“It’s been way too long,” White told the SEC Network broadcast crew while joining them in the booth during Saturday’s game against UT-Martin. “This is obviously the kind of football we want to be playing. Late in the season you want to be playing meaningful games. Just excited about the opportunities we have ahead of us.”

With UT-Martin handled easily in the first half on Saturday, White and the Volunteers faithful had the chance to look ahead early.

Tennessee led 52-7 at the break, quickly shaking off any possible malaise following the big win over ‘Bama.

The Volunteers are currently a half game back from Georgia in the SEC East, sporting a 3-0 conference mark, just one win shy of the 4-0 record the Bulldogs have at the moment. The two will meet on Nov. 5 and at least some are already envisioning a scenario where the SEC produces multiple playoff teams this year.