Ramel Keyton reveals mentality on replacing Cedric Tillman

It’s often said that you don’t want to be the guy after ‘the guy.’ That’s because you don’t want to draw immediate comparisons to a talented and beloved figure. You want to be able to have a legacy that isn’t always associated with that other person. However, in the case of injuries, it isn’t always possible to avoid stepping into big shoes. That’s what happened to Ramel Keyton when Cedric Tillman went down with an injury.

Cedric Tillman, a star wide receiver for Tennessee, had to have surgery on an ankle sprain. In his place stepped Ramel Keyton.

While speaking to the media, Ramel Keyton was asked if he had a sense of needing to step up, following the injury to Cedric Tillman.

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“Yeah,” Ramel Keyton replied, “Because I don’t want to let the team down because, you know, he was a big part of the offense. So, I feel like I had to step in and like, help the offense. I mean, even though if it’s not all through me, I just gotta do my part to make sure that we keep winning, so yeah.”

Later in the press conference, Ramel Keyton was asked about the dynamic between him and Cedric Tillman during the injury. This allowed Keyton to praise Tillman for his work ethic and how he is as a teammate.

“Ced’s in every meeting. He’s gonna give us tips on like what he does, like to get open. You can just look at the film, what he did to get open, and you can just use what he did, put it in your own style. So, like, it’s not like oh, we’re missing Ced–we are missing Ced, but like anybody can be able to step up and it should be like that. Everybody should be preparing like they’re the starter, or whatever it is. So, you know, if somebody does go down, someone’s a play away, and you’ve got to step up and help the team.”

Ramel Keyton has done an admirable job filling in for Cedric Tillman this season. He has 20 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns. That includes five catches in Tennessee’s win over Alabama.

Josh Heupel provided an update on Cedric Tillman

Tennessee fans are excited to see what the offense could do at full strength. However, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was unwilling to confirm if Cedric Tillman is going to play at Kentucky or not, though. Instead, he insisted that the decision is going to come down to the medical staff and doing the right thing for Tillman.

“We’ll see where he’s at when we get through tomorrow and on game day,” Josh Heupel said. “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.”