Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 99 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
Today, we feature No. 99 with a look at Jerry Tillery, the standout Irish defensive lineman who wore the number from 2015-18.
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Tillery, a Shreveport, La. native, arrived at Notre Dame in 2015 as a unanimous top-300 recruit and the No. 19 defensive lineman in his class per On3 Consensus.
A co-starter as a freshman in 2015 at nose tackle with Daniel Cage, Tillery finished with a modest but adequate 12 total tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack over the course of six games. The 6-7, 305-pound defenseman tripled his production the following season, posting 37 stops, 3.5 of which were for a loss, over 11 games. It was a rough season for the 4-8 Irish, and Tillery was not shy about expressing his frustration publicly via Twitter and elsewhere. He did, however, acknowledge his mistakes and returned in 2017 with big goals.
Despite facing constant double teams as a junior, Tillery still easily paced all Irish linemen with 56 tackles (no one else had more than 30), and he led the team with 11 quarterback hurries and 4.5 sacks — a statistical anomaly for a nose tackle to lead a defense in those two categories — and his nine tackles for loss were second on the Irish defense.
After his breakout junior season, Tillery had a decision to make; he was a fringe NFL Draft pick if he elected to forgo his senior year. Or he could return to Notre Dame. Tillery headed West to think about his options.
“There’s no better place to make that decision than on a beach in Hawaii,” Tillery later explained to Blue & Gold of the setting where he chose to come back to Notre Dame for a final season of football and another year of personal growth.
Tillery was also moved from nose tackle to three-technique that season in an effort to both help the Irish team and boost the lineman’s NFL Draft stock.
The decision paid dividends. After a 29-tackle and eight-sack 2018 season, not only was Tillery a part of the first Notre Dame team to make the College Football Playoff, he was selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.
He has since played in 47 games in Southern California, including starting 15 of 16 contests for the Chargers in 2021. Tillery is two stops shy of 100 career tackles at the next level and has 9.5 sacks under his belt in the league.
Blue & Gold’s Todd Burlage contributed to this report.
