Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Cedric Tillman will return for …
Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Cedric Tillman will return for Saturday’s game against No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats after a four-game absence, he posted to Instagram on Friday.
Tillman has practiced at full speed this week and has been cleared to play for the No. 3 Vols, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Tillman has been out since Sept. 17 after undergoing tightrope surgery on his left ankle. He was an All-SEC selection a year ago and led the Vols in catches (64), receiving yards (1,081) and touchdown catches (12).
He has 17 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown in three games this season.
On Thursday, senior safety Jaylen McCollough, who missed the past two games after being charged with felony aggravated assault, was cleared to play by both the university and the athletic department, sources told ESPN.
Elijah Burress, the son of former Michigan State and NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress, committed to Notre Dame on Saturday.
The product of DePaul Catholic High School (Wayne, N.J.) adds to a 2025 Fighting Irish class that already has seven ESPN 300 prospects, tied for second most with Ohio State. In ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle — released on Dec. 22 — the class sat third behind Georgia and Alabama.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Burress caught 25 passes for 434 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games as a junior for the Spartans last season.
Notre Dame recruited two ESPN 300 wide receivers — Cam Williams (No. 47 overall) and Micah Gilbert (No. 257 overall) — for its 2024 class, which ranked 12th in ESPN’s rankings.
After playing for Nick Saban at Michigan State from 1996 to ’99, the elder Burress was drafted eighth overall in 2000 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played 12 seasons for the Steelers, New York Giants and the New York Jets, catching 553 passes for 8,499 yards and 64 touchdowns over 148 career games.
Elijah Burress joins four-star cornerback Ivan Taylor (No. 30 overall in 2025) at Notre Dame; Taylor’s father, Ike, played for the Steelers and was teammates with Plaxico Burress.