Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2015 RECRUITING ISSUE He believes Tillery can be an ideal three-technique (lined up on the out- side shoulder of a guard) in the 4-3 scheme a la Sheldon Day, or four- technique in the 3-4. The height could create some leverage problems, but Dawson said Tillery's pad level, use of hands, fast-twitch muscle explo- sion off the ball and flexibility — "he can do the splits" — make him more appealing on defense. Irish head coach Brian Kelly indi- cated that even if Stanley would have turned pro, Tillery's first look would have come on defense this spring. "Jerry possesses some skill sets that most defensive tackles don't have, and that is the ability to use his hands," Kelly said. "What we saw when we got a chance to talk to more people about Jerry was a unique abil- ity to take that size of 6-6 — he's actually 318 pounds now — and use his hands and separate and run. We could have a dominating defensive lineman." It's a different road than what Tillery and Kelly had originally planned to take, but uniqueness has been part of Tillery's makeup. ✦ JERRY TILLERY DEFENSIVE TACKLE 6-6 • 310 EVANGEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY SHREVEPORT, LA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 145 15 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 280 30 14 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 85 6 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 213 20 7 Note: Position ranking by everyone other than Rivals is for offensive tackle. MEASURABLES • At Nike's elite The Opening camp at Beaver- ton, Ore., last summer, he registered a triple-digit SPARQ (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quick- ness) score — which is a measure of overall ath- letic ability — with a 100.14. He was timed at 5.17 in the 40-yard dash, did the 20-yard shuttle drill in 4.53 seconds, threw the power ball 39 feet and five inches, and had a 28.2-inch vertical jump. STATISTICS • While playing full time on both sides of the ball as a senior, was credited with 93 tackles, 15 stops for lost yardage and seven sacks. HONORS • Recognized as a second-team offensive lineman on the 2014 MaxPreps.com All-America squad. • Named to the American Family Insurance All- USA Louisiana team as an offensive lineman. • Honored as the Louisiana District 1-3A Defensive MVP and The Shreveport Times' All-City Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. • Ranked as the No. 3 player on The New Or- leans Times Picayune Nifty 50 (the top players in Louisiana). • Listed first-team all-state as a defensive lineman by the Louisiana Football Coaches Association and first-team all-state as an offensive lineman by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association following his senior campaign. • As a junior in 2013, he was a second-team all- state pick by the Louisiana Football Coaches As- sociation. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 3 in San Antonio, where he practiced as an offensive lineman even though he will begin his Fighting Irish career on defense.