Travares Tillman
Travares Arastius Tillman (born October 8, 1977) is a former American football safety and current coach. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He is currently the defensive backs coach for Georgia Tech.
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive backs coach | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | October 8, 1977 Lyons, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech | ||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2000 / Round: 2 / Pick: 58 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| As a player: | |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Tillman has also been a member of the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins.
Early years
Tillman attended Toombs County High School in Lyons, Georgia, and he was a standout in football, basketball, and golf. In football, he was a standout wide receiver, and as a senior, he was a Class A All-State selection and the Class 3-A Defensive Player of the Year.
College years
Tillman attended Georgia Tech for four years. He was elected one of Tech's permanent team captains for the 1999 season. He was a three-year starter in the secondary who played free safety. He was the first Tech player drafted in 2000 with his selection in the second round (58th pick) by the Buffalo Bills. He finished his career with 236 tackles, ranking fourth in Tech history, among defensive backs.
In 1996, he was a backup and special teams performer. He played in nine of 11 games.
In 1999, he was the school’s top defensive player and a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection for the second straight year. He played free safety and cornerback. He was fifth on the team in tackles, with 56. He was ranked the fifth-best free safety in the nation by The Sporting News preseason magazine. He was ranked among the nation's top ten safeties by Lindy's magazine, which tabbed him to its preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference first team.
Professional Years
Career transactions
He signed a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins as an unrestricted free on March 4, 2005. He was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 2000. He was waived by the Bills on September 1, 2000.[1]
He was signed to the Houston Texans on January 14, 2003, and was waived on September 17, 2003.
In 2006, he played in 14 games. He was inactive for Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit with a left hand injury. He underwent surgery on November 21 to reduce and stabilize a fourth metacarpal fracture of his left hand.
In 2005, he played in all 16 games. He underwent surgery on June 14, 2005, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to debride a Meniscus tear and articular cartilage damage.
In 2004, he played in six games.
In 2000, he played in 15 games, including four starts, in his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills.
NFL Career Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2000 | BUF | 15 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | BUF | 13 | 6 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| 2003 | CAR | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | CAR | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | MIA | 16 | 10 | 59 | 37 | 22 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | MIA | 14 | 7 | 47 | 30 | 17 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | MIA | 3 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | 29 | 187 | 127 | 60 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 38 | 0 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 0 | ||
Coaching career
Georgia
After spending a few years coaching at the high school level, Tillman joined the University of Georgia’s coaching staff. He began as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs working with the defensive backs his first two seasons with the program before transitioning into a quality control role with the defense for the 2018 season.
Colorado
Travares Tillman was hired on January 2, 2019, as the defensive backs coach for the University of Colorado,[2] by new CU head coach Mel Tucker.
Michigan State
In 2020 he went with Mel to Michigan State where he worked as a defensive assistant before being promoted to cornerbacks coach for the 2021 season.[3][4]
Georgia Tech
On December 7, 2021 it was announced that Tillman would return to his alma mater, Georgia Tech as the team’s defensive backs coach.[5][6]
Personal life
Travares is the third of four children, born to Vera Pearl Tillman. In 2006 Travares married fashion designer and celebrity wardrobe stylist Kiki Tillman (Kirchner) and together the couple has three children.
References
- "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- Stern, Jack Charles (2019-01-09). "Tillman is a high-risk, high-reward, hire for the Buffs". The Ralphie Report. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- "Michigan State CB coach Travares Tillman discusses his role on the Spartans' staff". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- Pouncy, Colton. "What new Michigan State cornerbacks coach Travares Tillman brings to the role". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- Solari, Chris. "Michigan State football loses cornerbacks coach Travares Tillman to Georgia Tech". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- MattSheehan (2021-12-07). "Report: Michigan State cornerbacks coach Travares Tillman heading to Georgia Tech". The Only Colors. Retrieved 2021-12-07.