Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
Tennessee

Josh Heupel analyzes return of Cedric Tillman, Jaylen McCollough

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•10/31/22
return-cedric-tillman-jaylen-mccollough-high-ankle-sprain-arrest-ut-gets-key-playmakers-back
Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman celebrates after a touchdown catch on Dec. 30, 2021. (Brett Carlsen / Getty Images)

No. 2 Tennessee cruised this weekend with a whooping of Kentucky, setting up a monster showdown with No. 1 Georgia with the SEC East on the line. And the good news for the Volunteers didn’t end with Saturday’s win. The return of Cedric Tillman and Jaylen McCollough from injury couldn’t have come at a better time.

Both played Saturday in the demolition of the Wildcats.

“Cedric I thought did a great job during the course of the ballgame with the opportunities that he had, but throughout the course of the night handled everything really well,” coach Josh Heupel said. “We kind of had him on a pitch count here in this first one.”

Tillan registered 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago, leading the team.

However, he suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s win over Akron in Week 3 of the season and hadn’t played since. Until Saturday, that is. Against Kentucky he logged four catches for 22 yards.

Heupel expects there’s more to come.

“He’s had two weeks of really good practice at full speed where we felt comfortable,” Heupel said. “He’s been itching to play and we just kind of felt like we wanted to make sure we made the right decision for him long-term and short-term, too, just as we go through this season. But he’s ready to play his best football, in my opinion.”

Return of Cedric Tillman, Jaylen McCollough boosts Vols

Not to be forgotten, safety Jaylen McCollough also provided a lift on Saturday in the win over Kentucky.

He had not played in the previous two games following an arrest and charges of felony aggravated assault, according to an ESPN report.

McCollough contributed four tackles and a tipped pass in Saturday’s game.

“Did a great job,” Heupel said. “He’s a leader on our defense, a quarterback in some respects, just being able to get all three levels of the defense in sync. It was awesome to have him back out there for us.”

Tennessee will be back in action this weekend on the road at No. 1 Georgia. The game will kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on CBS.