Tennessee signs Las Vegas wide receiver Cedric Tillman after late offer

Three-star senior wide receiver Cedric Tillman of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas signed with Tennessee on Wednesday after getting a scholarship offer from the Vols just three days earlier.

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The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Tillman also had received offers from UNLV, Hawaii and Weber State, and he had drawn interest from Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, among others.

Tillman said he learned of the offer Sunday during a phone conversation with Tennessee offensive coordinator Tyson Helton after Helton's brother, Southern Cal coach Clay Helton, had let him know about Tillman being available.

“He came down to the school to visit one of our players, and he wanted to talk to me,” Tillman said, referring to Clay Helton. “He said, ‘I like you,’ but all their spots are basically taken up, so that was kind of the situation there. He was just upset that nobody had picked me up, so he wanted to help me try to get into a good school.

“He told me that he was going to show me to the (Tennessee) coaches and told me he was going to do everything he could. But you’re like, ‘OK, you say that …’ But you know what? Actually, he did, and he helped me out a lot and his brother actually did hit me up.”

Tillman said he was "shocked" by his offer from the Vols. He admitted he “was planning on looking for somewhere to walk on” in case no one extended an offer to him before Tennessee entered the picture.

"He just told me that they’re looking for some big, physical receivers," Tillman said, referring to Tyson Helton. "In the SEC, he said they play a lot of man coverage, one-on-one, so he feels like I can come in there — a big receiver, 6-3, 205 — and make a difference for them.

“He called me and I was just shocked,” Tillman added. “I was like, it’s not some small, local school. This is Tennessee we’re talking about — SEC, one of the best conferences. They took a chance on a guy they just found out about.”

Tillman said he mostly has flown under the radar to this point because he’s a “late bloomer” who grew roughly 3 inches and added 30 pounds between his junior season and the start of his senior year. He claims to have been timed at approximately 4.55 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and he caught 37 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior at powerhouse Bishop Gorman.

“I was a late bloomer,” he said, "and I finally got the opportunity to start and I made the most of it.”