UL Athlete (1998-2002) Charles Tillman

[Turbine]

Florida Citrus Sports, the organization that hosts the Rotary Gridiron Classic, has invited University of Louisiana defensive standout Charles Tillman

The Rotary Gridiron Classic has a very special format that was first witnessed on the campus of Louisiana in 1943. This was made possible due to the v-12 program and the fact that Louisiana (SLI at the time) had over 175 two-year starters enrolled from various colleges around the country.

The present day format known as the Gridiron Classic matches the top collegiate players from around the nation against those from Florida, and will be played on January 25, 2003.

In 1943 the Louisiana players from the state of Texas were matched up against UL players from the rest of the country.

Congratulations Charles Tillman, this game has your schools mark all over it.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. - The University of Louisiana announced on Wednesday that defensive back Charles Tillman has received an invitation to the Fifth Annual Rotary Gridiron Classic College All-Star Game in Orlando, Fla.

The Rotary Gridiron Classic will kick-off at 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 25, 2003 (ESPN2) and will be played at the Florida Citrus Bowl (65,612). Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, UCF's Mike Kruczek and 12 coaches from NFL Europe will comprise the coaching staffs.

Tillman has not declined or accepted the offer. Louisiana is currently in the midst of final examinations. He accepted an invitation to the Hula Bowl on Nov. 13, which will be played on Saturday, February 1, 2003.

"I'm excited for Charles Tillman," said Ragin' Cajuns head coach Rickey Bustle. "This is his second invitation and there could be another yet to come. I know he (Tillman) will make us proud.

"Our program now has three post season bowl invitations in the last two months. I'm very pleased with the direction we are heading in. This shows high school players that when they become a member of the Ragin' Cajuns, they will have every opportunity to be noticed by the NFL."

The rest of the story

[Turbine]

Charles Tillman has turned down the GridIron Classic, which is to take place the last week of January.

It seems there is only one week between the "GridIron Classic" and the higher profile HULA BOWL. The Hula Bowl takes place the first week of February and Peanut is devoting his time and energy towards preparing for the annual senior tilt.

I am happy to report that he is maintaining his stamina with vigorous preparation for the annual Hawaiian Island classic, by doing wind sprints and footwork exercises.

Multiple windsprints up the future Hall of Fame inclined tunnel, backwards, should have him in game shape where fans of his from the University of Louisiana will no doubt be watching proudly come February.

[NewsCopy]

Local stars honored
Tillman leads Cajun contingent on All-Louisiana team

Posted on December 21, 2002
BATON ROUGE - When it came time to vote for the All-Louisiana College football team, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel took the message to heart.
. . .

The first team defensive backs are Lynaris Elpheage (Tulane), Charles Tillman (Louisiana), Corey Webster (LSU) and Hadley Prince (McNeese).

The rest of the story

[Louisiana]

Prospect Profiles


Charles Tillman
Position: Cornerback
College: Louisiana-Lafayette
Height: 6-1
Weight: 207
Hometown: Copperas Cove, Texas

ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a good frame with solid muscle mass and development … Shows agility, balance, quickness and flexibility driving out of his backpedal … Tough and physical collision tackler … Hard worker in the weight room and football field … Has a good short-area burst to mirror receivers and can accelerate off his turn to maintain stride with the opponent on deep routes … Shows proper pass-drop technique to break on the ball … Uses his hands effectively to jam the receivers at the line … Gets a good jump on the ball and uses his leaping ability to combat for the ball at its highest point … Anticipates the pass quickly, showing good pursuit speed.

Negatives: Stands too tall in his backpedal, causing him to gather himself and take wasted steps in transition … Allows separation at times, as he gives up too much cushion underneath … Hits well, but lacks classic wrapup tackling technique, dipping his shoulder and turning his head before making the stop … Not sudden in his burst, preferring to let the plays come directly to him.

CAREER NOTES
Four-year starter, team captain and the "coach on the field," according to the ULL staff … Will spend considerable time in the film room preparing for his opponents … A very vocal leader on the field, he sacrificed personal success for that of the team by moving from left cornerback to free safety midway through his final campaign … Finished with 284 tackles (182 solos) with 2 sacks, 9 stops behind the line of scrimmage, 7 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions, 31 pass deflections and 3 blocked kicks.

2002 SEASON
All-America honorable mention by the Associated Press … All-Sun Belt Conference first-team choice … Started every game, beginning the year at left cornerback before shifting to free safety for the final four contests … Led the team with a career-high 100 tackles (65 solos) and had 2 stops for losses of 5 yards … Deflected 8 passes and intercepted 2 others … Caused 3 fumbles and had 2 fumble recoveries … Blocked 3 punts, returning them for a total of 57 yards (19.0 average).

Texas A&M - Returned an interception 8 yards, deflected 3 passes and posted 9 tackles (7 solos) in the season opener.

Minnesota - Blocked a punt, recovering the ball and advancing it 14 yards while also coming up with 7 solo hits.

Houston - Knocked down 2 passes and registered 9 tackles.

Louisiana State - Tackled Ryan Grant, causing a fumble that he recovered to advance the ball 4 yards, deflected a pass and collected 8 tackles (7 solos).
New Mexico State - Followed with 13 tackles, including one for a 4-yard loss and batted away a pass.

Middle Tennessee - Recovered a fumble caused when cornerback Ivan Taylor tackled receiver Tyrone Calico, and was in on 5 tackles (4 solos).
North Texas - Collected 9 tackles (7 solos) with a stop behind the line of scrimmage and a pass deflection.

Idaho - Caused a fumble, batted away a pass and made 14 hits (8 solos) in his first game at free safety.
Arkansas State - Picked off a pass, deflected another and delivered 7 tackles (6 solos).

Arkansas - Blocked a pair of punts, returning one 2 yards and advancing the other for a 41-yard gain, as he totaled 11 tackles (9 solos), including a stop on Richard Smith that caused a fumble … Named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for that performance.
Louisiana-Monroe - Closed out his career with a 6-tackle effort.

2001 SEASON
All-Sun Belt Conference second-team choice … Started every game at left cornerback … Recorded 38 tackles (17 solos) with 3 stops for losses of 5 yards, 8 deflected passes and 4 interceptions for 13 yards in returns … Recovered 2 fumbles and caused 3 others.
2000 SEASON
Started every game at left cornerback … Finished second on the team with 64 tackles (48 solos), adding a pair of sacks for minus-21 yards and 3 stops for losses of 22 yards … Returned 6 interceptions for a total of 15 yards and deflected 9 passes … Caused 3 fumbles and recovered another.
1999 SEASON
Played in every game, starting five of the team's final seven contests … Finished second on the squad with 82 tackles (52 solos) … Deflected 6 passes … Caused 3 fumbles and recovered another.
INJURY REPORT
Underwent left shoulder surgery immediately after the 2000 season.
CAMPUS AGILITY TESTS
Timed at 4.49 in the 40-yard dash … 280-pound bench press … 405-pound squat … 285-pound power clean … 10'9" broad jump … 31-inch arm length … 9 3/8-inch hands … Right-handed.
COMBINE AGILITY TESTS
ARM HAND TEST 40 20 10 225 VJ BJ SHUTTLE CONE
31 9¾ 17 4.49 2.63 1.56 12 40 10'11" 3.89 7.05


HIGH SCHOOL
Two-time All-District 8-5A and all-area team selection at Copperas Cove (Texas) High … Was also named to the Super Cen-Tex team as selected by the Austin American-Statesman … All-State Class 5A honorable mention … coached by Jack Welch.
PERSONAL
Health and Physical Education major … Born Feb. 23, 1981 … Resides in Copperas Cove, Texas.

The rest of the story

2002: Named defensive captain prior to the season. Led the Cajuns with 100 tackles, including 65 solo stops. Forced three fumbles and blocked three kicks. Tillman’s three blocks led to 12 points by the Cajuns (TD, FG, Safety). He recorded two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and eight pass break-ups, posting nine or more tackles in six games. Voted Defensive MVP by his teammates following the season. Named Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Arkansas in which he blocked two punts and forced a fumble. Named Defensive or Special Teams Player of the Game by the Cajuns coaching staff five times (Defense: vs. Houston, UAB and Idaho, Special Teams: vs. North Texas and at Arkansas).

[Pirogue]

warming up before the Hula Bowl

[NewsCopy]

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun cornerback Charles Tillman made a diving interception here Saturday in the Hula Bowl, . . .

Tillman’s theft set up a field goal for his team.

Joining Tillman on the Aina defense were Cajun teammate Ivan Taylor and LSU’s Norman LeJeune, while Sun Belt Conference foe Kevin Galbraith of North Texas was a running back on that team.

Louisiana Tech running back Joe Smith played for the Kai Team.

The source of the story

South Louisiana Publishing

[Pirogue]

Charles Tillman
Cornerback/Free Safety
Louisiana
collected by draftbook.com
Status: Senior
6-1/195
40: 4.48

TFY collected by draftbook.com
12-20-02 Two players getting a lot of ink lately are a pair of defensive backs from Louisiana; Ivan Taylor and Charles Tillman. Both are nice sized, speedy secondary players reportedly making a huge jump up draft boards. In fact Blesto recently ranked Taylor as the fifth best prospect in the country......hmm. Recently we spoke with scouts and others involved in the Rajun Cajun program and to a man the bottom line was Taylor was faster and a better athlete but Tillman was the better football player. Tillman, a safety that also spent time at cornerback, was the primary force in the Louisiana defense and the leader of the unit. For his part Taylor, a former running back that played only two of the five years he was in college due to academic problems, made great strides as a football player but still has a ways to go. Many are looking at Taylor's size (6-0/188) speed (4.45) numbers and drooling. To our minds he is a solid prospect but should not be the fifth rated corner in the nation, never mind player. Tillman will be playing in the Hula Bowl (big deal) and the GridIron Classic (the same game Travis Fischer made his move last year), next month.

[Pirogue]

John Murphy collected by draftbook.com
12-04-02 Louisiana senior defensive back Charles Tillman capped off a stellar college career by recording 100 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, three blocked kicks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this season. He also returned three punts for 57 yards. The Texas native registered 11 tackles, two blocked punts and one forced fumble against Arkansas, which helped him earn Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

He has 284 tackles in his career, which places him in the top five in tackles all-time at the school, and second only to Orlando Thomas in terms of tackles made by a defensive back. He was a ballhawk at both cornerback and free safety, grabbing 12 career interceptions, including six picks, as a sophomore. Nicknamed "Peanut" he was moved to free safety during the season, which allowed him to survey opposing quarterbacks and anchor the Ragin' Cajuns' secondary.

"(I) think there is no question that he (Tillman) is an NFL caliber player," according to Ragin' Cajuns head coach Rickey Bustle. "NFL teams are deciding which position is best for him (free safety or cornerback). I've talked to almost every pro scout after we moved him to free safety and they all said that being able to play another position will help his final grade."

Hula Bowl officials must agree because they recently invited him to take part in the 56th annual event, which will be played on February 1st in Maui, Hawaii, as part of joint football weekend with the NFL Pro Bowl. "It is a great honor to have been selected", said Tillman, "(I) will play either spot... whatever they ask me to do... my production and ability to make plays helps make a good defender at either position."

Scheme-wise he would fit as a cornerback for teams like the Jets and Buccaneers, while others may like to take advantage of his ball skills at free safety. His impressive play on special teams will almost certainly boost his final grade. Additionally, off-the-field he is a well-spoken, respectful person who will grade out as a high character individual.

So, while pro scouts decide which position (CB or FS) Tillman is best suited to play in the NFL... one thing was for certain... college receivers certainly found "Peanut" a hard nut to crack in pass coverage.

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[Turbine]

Hope no one missed it, -by the way Great show Bil- Peanut on the Sportsnote.

If the NFL drafted on personality, Peanut would be a 1st rounder.

[RaginRash]

Originally posted by Turbine
Hope no one missed it, -by the way Great show Bil- Peanut on the Sportsnote.

If the NFL drafted on personality, Peanut would be a 1st rounder.

How was the interview? Can anyone sum it up for the out of towners? In English, por favor! Thx

[1stTake]

Originally posted by RaginRash
How was the interview? Can anyone sum it up for the out of towners? In English, por favor! Thx

I heard the show. Charles in charge thought they put Ragin Cajuns on the map. He has been training with a specialist. There were a lot of scouts at the game. They ask weird questions. Cajuns started first and last scoring drives for the win. Everyone wanted Ragin' Cajun stickers. That is all I can remember.