Pete Thamel: Tennessee's Cedric Tillman, Jaylen McCollough out vs Alabama on Saturday

Pete Thamel delivered some disappointing news for Tennessee faithful on Saturday, revealing star wide receiver Cedric Tillman and defensive back Jaylen McCollough will miss the gigantic showdown against Alabama.

“No. 6 Tennessee will be without two key starters in its game with No. 3 Alabama on Saturday. Sources told ESPN that both senior receiver Cedric Tillman and senior safety Jaylen McCollough will not play.” wrote Thamel. “Tillman has been out since injuring his ankle against Akron on Sept. 17. He had tightrope surgery on the ankle on Sept. 20 and was still limited in practice this week.

“… McCollough is inactive and will not play against the Tide after being arrested on felony charges of aggravated assault earlier in the week. His status for upcoming weeks remains uncertain.”

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Alas, losing Cedric Tillman was quite a blow for Tennessee, but earlier this season the star wide receiver took a big step to try and speed up his return.

To illustrate, Tillman underwent “tightrope” ankle surgery to avoid missing more time, ESPN’s Chris Low originally reported. It’s the same type of procedure Tua Tagovailoa underwent twice while he was at Alabama. The first time, Tagovailoa returned in 28 days, and he came within three weeks of the second surgery.

Originally, Tillman suffered the injury in Tennessee’s victory over Akron Sept. 17, which caused him to miss the Volunteers’ thrilling victory over the Gators at Neyland Stadium. In three games this season, he has 17 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown to his name, one year after totaling more than 1,000 yards. 

Unfortunately, it looks like the precautions Tillman took won’t be enough to get him back on the field against the Crimson Tide.

On the other hand, Jaylen McCollough is in his fourth season as a starting safety for the Volunteers, and has recorded 23 tackles so far this year. He has played all 40 games since the beginning of his true freshman season in 2019, but he’ll miss Saturday’s game while he deals with some legal troubles,

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the police report states the incident occurred last Sunday afternoon at 3:28 p.m. ET. A man said he had been drinking with friends at an apartment complex when he went to retrieve items from his vehicle. He returned to the building and went to the wrong apartment, knocking on McCollough’s door instead of his friends’.

When no one answered, the man stated that he stepped inside the apartment. He immediately realized it was the wrong one and apologized, turning to leave before being pursued by an unknown male, presumed to be McCollough. 

The man said he apologized once again, but also told McCollough he “didn’t have to be a (expletive) about it.” The man then tried to leave, but was struck in the face and fell down a staircase before losing consciousness. He later regained consciousness as he said a male and female helped him to his feet.

Police said when McCollough returned to the scene, his right hand was in bandages, with blood showing on his hand, according to the report. The report also described the other man as having a bloody, swollen mouth and missing teeth when they arrived, and said police discovered blood on the staircase.

McCollough was taken into custody and did not answer any questions at the scene.

While Cedric Tillman and Jaylen McCollough won’t be on the field for Tennessee on Saturday, Chris Low of ESPN is reporting offensive lineman Gerald Mincey is expected to play, while the Volunteers also keeping an eye on defensive back Kamal Hadden.

Josh Heupel’s team will need to dig deep to defeat Alabama, but they’ve proven they can do so throughout the 2022 season. It’ll be a battle in Knoxville on Saturday, and it’ll be fascinating to see who comes out on top.