Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-51@ Oklahoma | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 51-10vs Texas Southern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#5
TJ Tillman
Sophomore cornerback on UTEP's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 165 lb · Amarillo, TX
Returning to UTEP for 2026
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 1560 nationally · Signed with UTEP
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 cornerback on UTEP's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to UTEP in 2025.
TJ Tillman
Doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play. This is his second year in the same secondary at UTEP. The receipt on tape: 1 tackles against Texas Southern, Week 2, 2026.
2 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
20254 games
- Signed with UTEP3-star out of Amarillo Tascosa
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
UTEP
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Scotty Walden — 3-11 over that span.
2025UTEP2-10HC: Scotty Walden · Balanced
2026UTEP1-1HC: Scotty Walden · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scotty Walden
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 51–10
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
UTEP
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Cornerback · UTEP
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +1 net (21 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
UTEP · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #102 · 2026 recruiting class #92
DNA match
Player DNA
Cover Corner
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
CB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Zach Cody’s 2024 season.
Matches Zach on
PD rate
Class year
Tackle volume
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Markus Boswell's freshman season at Akron (2025).
Matches Markus on
Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume
The secondary · UTEP
- #2Xavier Smith60 tackles · 2025
- Justin Content58 tackles · 2025
- #7Kode Lowe34 tackles · 2025
- #5TJ Tillman12 tackles · 2025
- #17Darnell Williams5 tackles · 2025
16 more on the roster · UTEP team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology