Former Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman looks to be back on the horse after an injury-filled final season on Rocky Top.
Tillman has been preparing for the NFL Draft for months now, which continued at the NFL Combine on Friday morning in Indianapolis.
While speaking with the media during an availability session, Tillman told reporters that he is 100 percent healthy after suffering significant injuries during the 2022 football season.
“Yeah, I am fully healthy at this point,” Tillman said via Titans reporter Jim Wyatt on Twitter. “One hundred percent, all ready to go. Last year, really, when I got hurt after Akron, really wasn’t 100 percent at all. I was at about 80 percent when I was trying to come back. But I’m all good now, ready to go. I’m really looking forward to it. [My] season kind of got cut short last year, so I think this is kind of a great time for me to be able to show what I can do.”
.@Vol_Football receiver Cedric Tillman (@Ctillman04) at the NFL Combine on Friday morning.
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) March 3, 2023
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One of the players that Tillman will be seeing often this weekend on the field is none other than a familiar face – Jalin Hyatt.
“It’s cool,” Tillman said. “It’s cool being able to see all my teammates that are here. But, definitely, me and Hyatt, definitely had conversations, definitely have talked about our 40 times and stuff like that. We’re all ready to go.”
While the two are great friends from their time in Tennessee, there will be plenty of friendly competition on the field this week.
“Yeah, no, we’re competitive,” Tillman said with a big laugh. “I know you guys don’t think I can run, but I can run.”
Tillman, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, declared for the NFL Draft back in mid-December while announcing his intention not to play in the Vols’ upcoming Orange Bowl game. That decision, though, wasn’t a surprise as Tillman battled constant injuries throughout the 2022 season.
Tillman suffered an ankle injury that required surgery in just the third game of the season last year. That injury would cause Tillman to miss the next four games on the schedule, which included No. 20 Florida, No. 25 LSU, and No. 3 Alabama, all of which Tennessee would win.
Tillman would return to the field for two straight games against Kentucky and Georgia before sitting out against Missouri. Tillman then returned for the South Carolina game but did not participate in the final game of the regular season against Vanderbilt due to the injury once again.
All in all, Tillman finished the 2022 season with 37 receptions, 417 yards, and three touchdowns in seven games played.
Cedric Tillman, along with Jalin Hyatt and the other wide receivers at the combine, will participate in on-field drills on Saturday, Mar. 4, starting at 1:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
#Vols WR Cedric Tillman on why he stayed at Tennessee in 2021 to play with Josh Heupel pic.twitter.com/y7UQvFpAAQ
— Lucas Panzica (@lucaspanzica) March 3, 2023
Tennessee WR Cedric Tillman: “Tennessee, we’re the real Wide Receiver U” #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/zMd8PT4PS6
— Jack McKessy (@jfmckessy) March 3, 2023
