Tennessee’s offense will be missing a key piece Saturday when it faces No. 20 Florida in an SEC bout at Neyland Stadium.

Vols’ senior wideout Cedric Tillman, who exited the game versus Akron last week after taking a hit to his lower body in the first half and did not return, will not play against the Gators according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Per Thamel, Tennessee is “hopeful” Tillman will return in two weeks when the Vols face LSU on Oct. 8 at Tiger Stadium.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Tillman broke out in Tennessee’s offense in head coach Josh Heupel’s offense last season, catching 64 passes for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. He spurned the NFL draft to return with the Vols for a fifth season.

He currently has 17 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown through three games in 2022.

With Tillman out, the Tennessee offense will likely turn to Jalin Hyatt and Southern Cal transfer Bru McCoy to make up for the production lost in Tillman’s absence.

Hyatt leads the Vols in receiving after three games with 18 catches for 267 yards and three scores while McCoy has caught eight passes for more than 100 yards and touchdown.

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