Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins added another former Yellow Jackets star to his coaching staff. The team announced Tuesday the hire of former Tech safety Travares Tillman, who has been cornerbacks coach at Michigan State for the past season.
Tillman will coach the team’s defensive backs, a change from Collins’ previous arrangement, in which Jeff Popovich oversaw the cornerbacks and Nathan Burton coached the safeties. Both were dismissed at the end of the season. Defensive pass-game coordinator also is part of Tillman’s title.
Tillman was a two-time All-ACC safety for the Jackets during his career (1996-99) for coach George O’Leary and then played seven NFL seasons. His senior season, 1999, was Collins’ first year as a graduate assistant with O’Leary.
“I’m proud and excited to return to my alma mater,” Tillman said in a statement. “I am honored to be a part of a great lineage of defensive backs at Georgia Tech. I can’t wait to get to work with coach Collins and the rest of the defensive staff to help develop the next generation of successful DBs and play winning defense on the Flats.”
Tillman will be charged with developing a secondary that recorded one interception in the 2021 season and was part of a defense that ranked last in FBS in passing efficiency. Tillman comes from a Michigan State team that finished the season with a 10-2 record and ranks 10th.
Statistically speaking, the Spartans were not exceptional on defense. They, in fact, rank last in FBS in passing defense (337.7 yards per game) and 84th in passing efficiency (138.9), although they also are tied for 16th in passes defended (62). At least in part because the Spartans were often ahead, they faced the most pass attempts (556) of any team in FBS. Because of significant roster turnover, the Spartans relied heavily on transfers new to the team at cornerback and also dealt with injuries at the position while facing several prolific passing attacks.
Tillman comes to Tech after having served six years with Michigan State coach Mel Tucker, formerly a Georgia defensive coordinator, whose own specialty is defensive backs.
After completing his busines degree from Tech in 2010, Tillman coached at Calvary Day School in Savannah from 2012-15 before getting hired at Georgia as a graduate assistant in 2016, working with Tucker and the defense. He was promoted to defensive quality control (2018), then went with Tucker when he became head coach at Colorado after the 2018 season, serving as defensive backs coach in 2019. He followed Tucker again to Michigan State when he took the head-coaching job there for the 2020 season, working as senior defensive assistant in 2020 before getting a promotion to coach the cornerbacks in 2021.
“Travares’ familiarity and love for Tech, along with seven years of NFL playing experience and six years of coaching under one of college football’s best defensive backs coaches in Mel Tucker, makes him an ideal fit to coach our defensive backs,” Collins said in a statement.
It’s the rare move for Tech to hire a coach away from another power-conference school. The chance for Tillman to return to his alma mater and also his home state (he’s from Lyons) likely were factors, not to mention a significant raise. Tillman’s deal at Michigan State was for two years at $250,000 annually, according to an MLive report.
He has agreed to a two-year deal at Tech worth $350,000 annually, which would appear to place him at the higher end of the pay scale for position coaches on Collins’ staff.
With Tillman coaching both the safeties and cornerbacks, Collins has one spot on his coaching staff to fill. It’s possible that he could use it on a coach to oversee special teams.
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