Countdown to Kickoff: No. 26
Travares Tillman
The countdown to kickoff is officially on as Georgia Tech‘s season-opening matchup at Colorado on Aug. 29 is less than 100 days away.
Until then JOL will be counting it down with one Jackets’ player daily that wore the corresponding number of days remaining until toe meets leather in Boulder.
With it now 26 days until kickoff in Boulder, today’s focus is on No. 26 Travares Tillman, a two-time All-ACC defensive back in the 1990s for the Jackets before going on to a long career in the NFL and then in the coaching ranks.
Tillman first became a name to know in high school football in the state of Georgia during an incredible career at Toombs County High in Lyons, Georgia where he lettered all four years, played wide receiver and defensive back and was eventually an All-State selection and Defensive Player of the Year pick in his classification during his senior season in 1995. He chose to sign with Georgia Tech over offers from several other college programs in the recruiting class of 1996.
After playing on special teams and as a reserve on defense as a true freshman in 1996, Tillman broke through as a starter in the defensive backfield as a sophomore in 1997 and held a starting spot at either free safety or cornerback through the end of his senior year in 1999. He racked up 236 career tackles in his college career which was fourth all-time by a defensive back in Tech program history when he left the school and is still in the top 10 now.
Tillman finished his time on The Flats with seven career interceptions, including a team-high four as a sophomore in 1997, and was named Second-Team All-ACC in 1998 and 1999. He was a part of 30 Jackets’ wins a share of the 1998 ACC championship and three bowl-game appearances in his career at Tech.
Tillman went on to be selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 58th overall pick in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft and played their two seasons. He went on to play for the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins over the next several years with his final NFL season being 2007.
Tillman played in Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003 with Carolina and ended his pro career playing in 74 games with 29 starts over seven seasons as a racked up 187 total tackles (127 solo), one tackle-for-loss, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 15 passes defended.
After returning to Georgia Tech to finish his degree in business management and graduating in 2010, Tillman went into coaching starting in 2012 as he spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Calvary Day School (Ga.) before moving onto the college level as a graduate assistant at Georgia in 2016 and 2017 and eventually a defensive quality control assistant with the Bulldogs in 2018. He spent the 2019 season as a defensive backs coach at Colorado and then had a two-year stint at Michigan State in 2020 and 2021 as a senior defensive assistant and cornerbacks coach.
Tillman returned to his alma mater in 2022 when he served as defense backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator and then was the defensive backs coach again in 2023 before being reassigned to off-field duties.
