Charles "Peanut" Tillman: Preaux Career

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Charles Tillman and Ivan Taylor will be keeping the phone lines clear next weekend.

The two University of Louisiana defensive backs have been impressive enough in postseason workouts to improve their stock and make it likely that they’ll both be selected in the NFL Draft.

For Tillman, the call could come as early as the second round. Taylor, meanwhile, has climbed from possible free agent status to a late-round project.

“Both of them went over to the Hula Bowl and played really well,” Ragin’ Cajun assistant head coach Gary Bartel said. “They opened some eyes wide with that.

“Charles went to the Combine and just blew them away. Every team in the league has been through here to work him out. Secondary coaches, defensive coordinators and some head coaches have been here.

“They like Peanut (Tillman) because he’s versatile. He can play cornerback or safety, or he could be that corner in the nickel and dime packages because he’s got great size and can match up with the bigger wide receivers.

“I’m still sticking to the third round, but he could jump up into the second round.”

The rest of the story

South Louisiana Publishing
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[CajunCall]

Congratulations to the Bears for getting a steal in Charles Tillman. Going high in the second round the Bears take Charles Tillman with the #35 overall pick.

[Turbine]

Here are the top 6 CornerBacks taken, where they were picked overall, and their tackle totals from last year.

1: 5 Dallas Terence Newman 54 tackles (43 solos)

2: 11 Seattle Trufant, Marcus 74 tackles (59 solos)

3: 28 Tennessee Woolfolk, Andre 26 tackles (20 solos)

4: 30 San Diego Davis, Sammy 62 tackles (42 solos)

5: 31 Oakland Asomugha, Nnamdi 53 tackles (42 solos)

6: 35 Chicago Tillman, Charles 100 tackles (65 solos)

[Cajun1997]

Highest Cajun drafted since the common draft started in 1967, way to go Charles.

[NewsCopy]

Greg Blache was emphatic last week that among the Bears' needs was a No. 3 corner.

"So," Blache was asked Saturday, "do you still need a No. 3?"

The question was an obvious nod to the relatively low profile of second-round pick Charles Tillman of the University of Louisiana, and Tillman himself did not try to hide his own amazement.

"The first thing that went through my mind was, 'Oh, my God, the 36th pick overall?'" said Tillman, a good three hours after the news.

"I was waiting for the 50s, maybe the 60s. The 36th pick just blew me away. I'm just overjoyed I got picked and one team took that much interest in me."

The Bears say the 6-foot-1-inch, 207-pound Tillman, a native of Chicago, is the man to challenge starting corners R.W. McQuarters and Jerry Azumah, who had just one interception between them last season.

An All-America honorable mention, Tillman began last season at left corner before shifting to free safety for the final four games, leading his team with a career-high 100 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three blocked punts.

"We like him as a corner and we really like him as a safety," said Bears general manager Jerry Angelo.

Realistically, Tillman, who calls himself "a good corner but an OK safety," will immediately challenge for a spot in the nickel package.

Turned on to football after watching the Bears in Soldier Field at his first NFL game, Tillman, who lived mostly in Chicago until junior high, said both sets of grandparents live just five to 10 minutes from the stadium.

Tillman described the scene after receiving the call from Bears director of college scouting Craig Gabriel. But perhaps more dramatic was the call he got from his uncle Tony Silas, a staff sergeant stationed in Baghdad, who was following the draft on the Internet and found out his nephew had been drafted at 4 a.m. in Baghdad.

"He was overjoyed," said Tillman. "He said, 'I couldn't sleep, so I went on the Internet and saw it. I had to get on the phone some way, somehow.'

"Me going to Chicago makes it that much better. [But] if you had told me I would be the 35th pick eight years ago, I would have been, 'Yeah, right.' You talk about stuff like this as a little kid. It's your dream. But now it's reality. It's my job. I'm a professional."

The rest of the story

Chicago Tribune
By Melissa Isaacson
April 26, 2003

[NewsCopy]

Bears take UL defensive back

Day one of the NFL Draft Saturday was a surprising one for Louisiana's draft-eligible players -- in terms of the one who was taken and one who was not.
University of Louisiana cornerback Charles Tillman was the only state college player selected Saturday during the first three rounds of the draft. The rest of the potential pros -- including LSU All-American linebacker Bradie James -- will wait to see how they fare today.

Rounds 4-7 will be held today, with coverage on ESPN starting at 10 a.m. and shifting to ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m.

Tillman, watching at home in Copperas Cove, Texas, was hopeful that he would go somewhere in the 50s or 60s, meaning late second round or early third.

But the draft was just three picks into the second round when the Chicago Bears took Tillman with the 35th overall selection.

Tillman becomes the highest-drafted UL player ever and just the third taken in the second round and top draft pick in the brief two-year football-playing history of the Sun Belt Conference.

He eclipses UL offensive tackle Anthony Clement, who was taken by the Arizona Cardinals with the 36th pick in 1998. UL defensive back Orlando Thomas was drafted 42nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 1995.

"It was a complete shock to be drafted 35th overall," said Tillman, shocked but obviously elated. "It was all the hard work that I did in my career at Louisiana.

The rest of the story

The Advocate
By SCOTT RABALAIS
srabalais@theadvocate.com

[NOCajun]

An historic day for Tillman

Bears make him highest pick ever from Ragin' Cajuns

Sunday April 27, 2003

By Ted Lewis
Staff writer

Louisiana cornerback Charles Tillman made history Saturday.

He was the highest draft pick in school history -- going to Chicago with the third choice in the second round and the 35th overall. Tillman was astonished that he was selected that high.

"My God!" said Tillman, also the first player with Louisiana connections drafted Saturday. "I feel like I went in the first round."

"I just didn't think there was any way I would go this high. I'm in total shock."

Tillman's high selection was a surprise to most draft observers, who had generally pegged him as a late second- or early third-round choice.

The Sporting News had the 6-foot-1, 208-pounder rated the No. 7 cornerback, local draft analyst Mike Detillier had him ninth, Mel Kiper 10th, USA Today 12th and Pro Football Weekly had Tillman 16th, giving him high marks for agility and toughness, but lesser ones for tackling and coverage technique.

Tillman was the sixth cornerback taken.

The Bears apparently liked what they saw in him, especially after he had good showings in the Hula Bowl and at the combine. However, the team did not bring in Tillman for any individual workouts.

"My agent (Van McElroy) did a good job for me and I worked myself," said Tillman, a four-year starter who had 100 tackles with two interceptions as a senior. "I think when you're from a small Division I-A school that didn't have a lot of success you've got to do a little extra to prove yourself.

"I got that chance in the Hula Bowl and just took it from there."

The Bears also probably liked Tillman's character. Despite playing at a school that was 9-36 during his four seasons there, Tillman was known as a leader on and off the field, and he gained success by switching from cornerback to free safety midway through his senior season. He also graduated in 3½ years with a degree in criminal justice and was at his family's home in Copperas Cove, Texas, when the Bears called Saturday.

"I felt like that even when things are going badly, you have to keep on fighting," he said. "You don't take plays off just because you're way behind.

"I mean, you're playing the game you love. Act like it."

With the Bears, Tillman will get a chance to compete for a starting spot right away. Incumbents Jerry Azumah and R.W. McQuarters combined for one interception last year and are considered undersized.

Saints director of player personnel Rick Mueller said the Bears were getting a quality player, one that was on their board, but not as high as Tillman was drafted.

"He's a steady player with really good size who runs well and is a really tough kid," Mueller said. "The one thing that jumped out about him is that he stands out getting around the football.

"More than anything else, he's a really good kid."

Another UL cornerback, Ivan Thomas, who prepped at Abramson, is expected to be a late pick today.

The previous top draft pick from UL was cornerback Orlando Thomas, taken with the 45th pick by Minnesota in 1995.

. . . . . . .

Ted Lewis can be reached at tlewis@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.

[CrewChief]

"I mean, you're playing the game you love. Act like it."

I have never heard that before. I will never forget it.

[NOCajun]

Originally posted by CrewChief
"I mean, you're playing the game you love. Act like it."

I have never heard that before. I will never forget it.

'NUFF SAID!!

[Turbine]

Good call Bruce.

Fans of Louisiana never doubted.

These guys are the "Prides of Louisiana"

[NewsCopy]

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Bears continued to fill needs early in the draft, bolstering their secondary and special teams by selecting Louisiana defensive back Charles Tillman in Round 2 with the 35th overall pick.

The 6-1, 207-pounder is a durable corner with good size, adequate speed, good hands and range. Tillman is also a physical, collision tackler with good character and leadership skills.

Tillman will add depth in the secondary and compete with Todd McMillon and Roosevelt Williams to be the third cornerback behind starters R.W. McQuarters and Jerry Azumah.

"I don't like to get high on rookies, but I think this guy has a chance to come in and help us," said Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache.

The rest of the story

ChicagoBears.com
By Larry Mayer
Senior Writer

[NewsCopy]

Windy City bound
Tillman looking forward to first Bears’ mini-camp.

LOUISIANA La. — Outside of Charles Tillman’s immediate family and closest friends, the man happiest about the Louisiana football standout’s selection on Saturday’s first day of the NFL Draft may have been Chris Ballard.

He’s the area scout for the Chicago Bears, and more than likely the man who convinced the Bears organization to make Tillman a surprisingly-high second-round selection.

“He was the guy that was pubbing me and pulling for me,” Tillman said Monday as he prepared to head north for the Windy City. “He told me that I had to go up there and do well, because his job was on the line.”

Ballard probably doesn’t have much to fear, since he figured out what Ragin’ Cajun fans have known for a while — Charles Tillman is (a) something special, and (b) one of the best-kept secrets in college football.

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South Louisiana Publishing
Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com