Travares Tillman - Football Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

BYU

Sep 27 (Sat)

8:15 PM

Travares Tillman

Title:
Assistant Coach/Defensive Backs
Email:
cufb@colorado.edu
Phone:
303-492-3214

Travares Tillman is in first year on the Colorado staff as the defensive backs coach, as he was hired by new CU head coach Mel Tucker, officially joining the Buffalo staff on Jan. 2, 2019.

Tillman, 41, came to CU after spending the previous three seasons (2016-18) at the University of Georgia. He was a graduate assistant working with the defensive backs the first two years before transitioning into a quality control role with the defense for the 2018 season. After Tucker accepted the CU job, he helped the Bulldogs defensive backs prepare for their Sugar Bowl matchup against Texas.

At Georgia, he helped tutor Deandre Baker, an All-American and the 2018 Thorpe Award winner given to the nation’s top defensive back. He worked directly with Tucker in coaching the safeties and assisted with recruiting along with coaching the offensive scout team, while his quality control duties included breaking down opponents and writing weekly scouting reports. GA was 32-9 when he was on staff, including 13-2 in a magical 2017 season. The Bulldogs were the SEC champions as well as the Rose Bowl champions in what was also College Football Playoff semifinal; Georgia was the third-ranked pass defense in the nation that season.

Prior to joining Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia, he served as the defensive backs and head track coach for four years (2012-15) at Calvary Day School in Savannah, Ga.; he was also the school’s assistant athletic director his last two years there. He helped coach the team to a 41-8 record over those four seasons, advancing to the state quarterfinals all four years, the state semifinals twice and in the state championship game in 2013. Eight players earned collegiate football scholarships during his time there.

In 2013, Tillman was a recipient of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship. He spent that summer working with the defensive backs at training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles under its first-year head coach Chip Kelly.

Tillman was a four-year letterman and two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer at Georgia Tech playing defensive back, starting three years at safety and cornerback from 1996-99.   He recorded 236 tackles in his Yellow Jacket career, fourth at the time of his graduation among defensive backs at the school and still eighth on GT’s all time chart. He also made seven interceptions, tying for the team lead with four his sophomore season. As a senior, he was named a permanent team captain and also earned Academic All-ACC honors.

The Buffalo Bills selected him in the second round of the 2000 National Football League Draft (the 58th player selected overall).   He played two seasons with the Bills, primarily at free safety. After missing the 2002 season with an injury, he was in the Houston Texans’ camp and made the final 53-man roster but was waived early in the season. However, the Carolina Panthers picked him up the very next day and he would spend the next two years (2003-04) in Charlotte, helping the team to the 2003 NFC championship by defeating Philadelphia and gain a berth opposite New England in Super Bowl XXXVIII.   To this day, it was one of the wildest fourth quarters in Super Bowl history, with New England winning, 32-29, on a field goal with four seconds remaining; the Panthers had rallied from 11 down to tie the game and outscored the Patriots, 19-18 in the quarter.

He then signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Miami Dolphins (2005-07), where he would finish as a pro after a second knee injury ultimately ended his career. He started 18 of his 33 games in Miami, recording 115 tackles with three interceptions. In seven seasons in the professional ranks (74 games), he was in 180 tackles, with four interceptions and 15 pass deflections.

He then returned to Georgia Tech to finish up his degree, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s in Business Management.

He was born Oct. 8, 1977 in Lyons, Ga., and graduated from Toombs County High School in Lyons, where he lettered four years in both football and basketball and twice in golf. In football, he earned Class 3A All-State honors and was the 3A Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He is married to the former Kiki Kirchner, and couple has three children, Atticus, Harper and Saint. (First name in pronounced truh-var-es.)

AT-A-GLANCE— He has been a part of 41 FBS games (all at Georgia with a record of 32-9), including three bowl games (2016 Liberty, 2018 Rose, 2019 Sugar) along with the 2018 CFP Championship game.

COACHING EXPERIENCE
2012-15         Calvary Day School       Defensive Backs / Head Track Coach
2016-17         Georgia                           Graduate Assistant/Defense Backs
2018               Georgia                           Quality Control/Defense
2019-             Colorado                         Defensive Backs