![]() ![]() On 19 April 1998 the Arizona Cardinals selected Tillman in the seventh round of the National Football League (NFL) draft, making him the 226th of 241 players picked. He earned his marketing degree in three and a half years, after enrolling during the summer and taking sixteen units instead of the typical twelve. Meanwhile, he maintained a 3.84 grade point average and graduated summa cum laude in December 1997 with a BS. In November 1997 Tillman became the first Sun Devil to be named Pacific Ten Conference defensive player of the year since the award was initially presented in 1983, as he led ASU in tackles with ninety-seven. On 1 January 1997 Tillman started as weakside linebacker in the Rose Bowl, against Ohio State University, when the ASU Sun Devils fell short of a perfect season and the national championship in losing 20–17. You can do whatever you want with me, but in four years I’m gone.” Nobody tells the truth.” When the coach raised the notion of using one year to train without playing, which would have entailed his spending five years total in college, Tillman replied, “I’ve got things to do with my life. When the ASU football coach Bruce Snyder asked the seventeen-year-old about what he thought of the recruiting process, Tillman rejoined, “It stinks. In August 1994 Tillman enrolled at ASU, where he was in fact the last man offered a football scholarship. Tillman had hoped that nearby Stanford would offer him a scholarship, but that school deemed his grades too low. But standing five feet, eleven inches tall and weighing 195 pounds, he was viewed as undersized for collegiate football and was contacted by only three division 1-A colleges: San Jose State University, Brigham Young University, and Arizona State University (ASU). Tillman was awarded 1994 Central Coast co-player of the year honors and also first-team all-sectional honors on defense. He pled guilty and served thirty days in a detention center. ![]() In fact, in defending a friend, Tillman was charged with a felony assault as a juvenile. He would walk around campus with a group the size of a soccer team.” A classmate noted, “All the girls loved him, and all the guys wanted to be him,” while his Spanish teacher, Carla Lucarotti, noted that his mischievous streak did go beyond the gridiron. Leland’s assistant principal, Robert Setterlund, said, “He was very popular. He also averaged 25.7 yards on 27 receptions (12 of which were for touchdowns), returned 3 kicks for touchdowns, and logged 110 tackles, 10 sacks, and 3 interceptions on defense. It was finally, ‘Pat, take off your stuff.’”įor the 1993 season Tillman averaged 10.9 yards per carry in rushing for a total of 623 yards and fourteen touchdowns. Lloyd recalled, “Pat just wanted to stay on the field, he kept going out there. The staff, led by head coach Terry Hardtke, had to take his equipment away in order to keep him on the sideline. Leland was routing its opponent, and the coaches chose to rest the team’s starters, but Tillman kept sneaking back into the game. His activities during a first-round 1993 playoff contest exemplified his flair. On the football field, Tillman exuded energy, spirit, and passion, with an admixture of mischief. ![]() Lloyd noted that Tillman put the goals of the team first and accepted his reduced role without a gripe. Dan Lloyd, Leland’s defensive coordinator, recalled that although Tillman was the school’s best tailback, he mostly played defense during the championship season because the squad had another high-quality running back. In 1993, as a junior, he helped the 12–1 Leland team capture the Central Coast Section Championship. He starred as an interscholastic football player at Leland, appearing on the field for almost every play, as a fullback on offense, as a linebacker on defense, and as a cover guy and kick returner on special teams. Tillman attended Leland High School, located in Almaden Valley, in San Jose, California. Tillman was the first of three sons born to Mary Tillman, a San Jose public school special-education teacher, and Patrick K. 22 April 2004 in Sperah, Afghanistan), professional football player who in response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 abandoned his successful career and joined the U.S. 6 November 1976 in Fremont, California d. ![]()
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