Tillman's journey a lesson in patience and work

But a Sunday conversation where Tillman made it clear he wanted to be a greater part of the offense following the Florida game a year ago changed the fortunes of Tillman’s career and the success of the 2021 season.

“I will be honest after the Florida game, I told Coach Burns I wanted to get more involved in the offense,” Tillman admitted. “I want you guys to trust me more. He liked the confidence and he agreed. I feel like that’s why it took off. I wanted the number one receiver role. I asked for it and it paid off.”

The result of the shift speaks for itself. The Las Vegas native had just six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown four games into the season, but finished with a 1,000-yard season.

Following the post-Florida meeting, Tillman had 73 yards on four catches and a touchdown at Missouri. The rest is history.

“We watched tape of the Missouri game with Coach Golesh and Coach Burns and you could just see it,” Tillman recalled. “We scored points so fast. What they said was working. As long as we do what we are told it’s going to work. I feel like that was the turning point."

Tillman’s career story is well-documented.

A late addition to Jeremy Pruitt’s first signing class, Tillman was ranked by some as the 1000th-best receiver in his class. Tillman smiled Thursday at the SEC Media Day podium when he wondered aloud what some of those other receivers are doing now.

“I’m not a guy that’s going to say much," Tillman said. "I’m not going to respond but I see it. I see what people say. I can’t focus on that. I play my game. I let it speak for itself."

“I feel like it’s more of an inspiration thing especially to high school kids. It doesn’t matter if you are a two or three star. All you need is one team to take a chance. And even to the young guys in the room, I didn’t play a lot till last year. I had to go four years before I played a lot. Sometimes you just have to pay your dues. Even if you aren’t playing early, don’t go into the transfer portal. Stick it out and compete because you are going to have to compete where ever you go.”

Patience is a lost virtue these days in college athletics and it wasn’t easy for Tillman who acknowledged he wondered about his future with the Vols during 2020.

“The COVID year with everything going on,” Tillman said of the low point. “Not knowing who the coach was going to be. Not playing as much as I should have. I feel like that was a frustrating time, but you have to put your head down and work. Things happen for a reason."

The thing that happened was the arrival of Josh Heupel and a 15-minute conversation Heupel’s first day on the job that changed the outlook and direction of his career.

“The first day Coach Heupel got on campus he talked to me for 15-20 minutes and it wasn’t even about football,” Tillman said. “It was about who I was. That kind of showed me that he was the real deal.

“We talk regularly. He greets every player when we go into meetings. It’s not just an act. He really cares about having a relationship with guys. We aren’t always talking about football. He talks about other stuff.

“Coach Heupel has done a lot of good things for this program and he will continue to do it. What makes Heup so good is that a 10-15 minute conversation goes a long way. I feel like if more college football coaches knew that then those teams would be more successful.”

If Tennessee is going to be successful this fall they need Tillman to again post big numbers. The challenge in 2022 is that Tillman isn’g going to surprise anyone. Defensive coordinators have spent this offseason looking at ways to stop the Vol offense starting with Tillman. The senior knows things will be different this year and it’s a challenge he embraces.

“That’s why it’s my job to become overall a better receiver,” Tillman offered. “The best receivers in this conference get double-teamed or get the best corner. That’s why my route-running needs to be perfect. That’s why my releases need to be better. And I will just say it, the other receivers and I know they will, but they have to do their jobs too.

“I have spent a lot of time with them especially the young guys that have come in. We are getting 500 balls a day on the jugs machine, getting 10,000 a month. These are the things people don’t notice where we are putting in work. We are excited for it.”

And so are the Vol fans.