Arizona State: One of the most exciting defensive players in the Pac-10 conference during his career…played the game with reckless abandon…cut his trademark long, shoulder-length hair following the Rose Bowl…brought a great package of size, speed and all-around athletic ability to the Sun Devils line backing core…was a very versatile player who can come up and stop the run or be an effective defender while dropping back in pass coverage.
1997 Season: Closed his stellar career with second team All-America honors while garnering the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year award … also named the team’s Most Valuable Player and garnered a spot in the East-West Shrine Game … collected numerous academic honors including the Burger King Scholarship, the Sporting News Honda Student-Athlete of the Year award, GTE District VIII Academic All-America accolades, Academic All-Pac-10 and the Clyde B. Smith Academic Award … on the field, led the team defensively with 93 tackles with a team-high 47 unassisted stops to his credit … also accumulated 15 tackles for a loss of 60 yards … recorded four sacks for 20 yards and collected three interceptions … helped lead the team to the 1997 Sun Bowl (W 17-7 over Iowa) to mark the first time in 10 years the Sun Devils had been to consecutive bowl games.
1996 Season: Second-team All-Pac-10 selection…second on the team in tackles…started all 11 games…played a phenomenal all-around game in ASU’s win over Oregon…had an interception deep in ASU territory, recovered a fumble on a fourth-and-six play, had a sack, five tackles, seven assists and two tackles for losses…he even recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter…the interception was the first of his career…the sack was for 15 yards late in the game…named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts…had a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown in ASU’s win over Boise State….snagged a screen pass on the left side of the field and ran untouched into the end zone…also posted one tackle for loss for nine yards…had seven tackles, one assist, a fumble recovery and an interception in ASU’s rout of Stanford…two of those tackles were for losses…recovered a Chad Hutchinson fumble at the Cardinal 18 in the first quarter…ASU scored two plays later to go up 21-0…picked a Todd Husak pass in the third quarter, setting up a field goal…had nine tackles, five assists and three tackles for loss in ASU’s win at UCLA…those tackles for loss totaled eight yards…also broke up three passes…had five tackles and four assists in ASU’s 29-14 win at Oregon State…had four tackles and a six-yard sack in ASU’s 56-14 win at Arizona…had a tackle and six assists in ASU’s Rose Bowl clinching win over Cal…had a near-interception in the second quarter…also tipped a pass on third-and-seven in the second quarter…had two tackles and six assists in season-opening win against Washington…tipped a Shane Fortney pass on third-and seven from the UW 8-yard line, forcing the Huskies to punt…ASU scored via a punt return on the ensuing play…flew in from the right side and tipped a Damon West pass with is left hand, leading to Vince Amey’s 24-yard interception return in win against North Texas…also had eight assists in that contest…had a tackle and two assists in ASU’s upset of top-ranked Nebraska…earned Pac-10 All-Academic (3.86 in Marketing)…GTE Academic All-District VIII selection…Clyde B. Smith Academic Award.
1995 Season: Had an outstanding sophomore campaign, finishing seventh on the team with 47 total tackles…blossomed into ASU’s top reserve among the linebacking corp…finished fifth on the team with 32 unassisted tackles…recorded five or more tackles on six different occasions…posted a career-high eight tackles on two separate occasions: Versus Brigham Young, in which he collected five solos with a career-high three assists and at Cal, in which all eight of his tackles were unassisted, a new career-high…set the tone for his season in the season-opener at Washington in which he amassed five tackles, including two tackles for minus-seven yards and one quarter back sack for minus-five yards….tallied three solos and three assists versus Oregon State…also recorded five tackle performances at Nebraska and versus UCLA, collecting two and three solo, respectively in those games…earned post-season all-conference honors in athletics (second-team, utility) and academics (honorable mention).
1994 Season: Collected 10 tackles, including six solos, in his first season of eligibility…appeared mostly on special teams, but did play some rover back…even played free safety in the Oregon contest…on his first career play from scrimmage at California, he sacked Golden Bear quarterback Dave Barr for an 11 yard loss…made two tackles each versus Miami and Washington State…the two against Miami were solos…made at least one tackle in every game except for the Brigham Young and UCLA contests.
Personal: Major is Marketing…parents are Patrick (attorney) and Mary (teacher) Tillman of San Jose, Calif.…born November 6, 1976 in Fremont, Calif. …has two younger brothers…brother Kevin plays for ASU’s nationally ranked baseball team…lists most exciting experience in sports as defeating Live Oak High in a semi-final game of the Central Coast Section Championships 28-27 after being behind by 14 points in the first half…enjoys rock climbing, snow and water skiing and reading…full name is Patrick Daniel Tillman
Career Highs:
Unassisted Tackles: 9, twice, last time at UCLA (10/12/96)
Assisted Tackles: 6, twice, last time vs. California (11/9/96).
Total Tackles: 14 at UCLA (10/12/96). Tackles For Loss: 3, at UCLA (10/12/96)
Quarterback Sacks: 1, four times, last time at Arizona (11/23/96)
Fumble Recoveries: 2, last time at Stanford (10/26/96).
Interceptions: 4, last time at Stanford (10/26/96)
HONORS EARNED IN HIS CAREER:
- 1997 All-American (2nd team)
- 1997 Burger King Scholarship Award Winner
- 1997 Sporting News Honda Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 1997 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year
- 1996 Second Team All Pac-10 Outside Linebacker
- 1995 Second Team All Pac-10 All-Purpose Specialist
- 1996, 1997 GTE District VIII Academic All-American
- 1996, 1997 Academic All Pac-10
- 1995 Academic All Pac-10 Honorable Mention
- 1997 ASU Most Valuable Player
- 1996, 1997 Clyde B. Smith Academic Award
- 1997 East-West Shrine, Outside Linebacker
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Arizona State: One of the most exciting defensive players in the Pac-10 conference during his career…played the game with reckless abandon…cut his trademark long, shoulder-length hair following the Rose Bowl…brought a great package of size, speed and all-around athletic ability to the Sun Devils line backing core…was a very versatile player who can come up and stop the run or be an effective defender while dropping back in pass coverage.
1997 Season: Closed his stellar career with second team All-America honors while garnering the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year award … also named the team’s Most Valuable Player and garnered a spot in the East-West Shrine Game … collected numerous academic honors including the Burger King Scholarship, the Sporting News Honda Student-Athlete of the Year award, GTE District VIII Academic All-America accolades, Academic All-Pac-10 and the Clyde B. Smith Academic Award … on the field, led the team defensively with 93 tackles with a team-high 47 unassisted stops to his credit … also accumulated 15 tackles for a loss of 60 yards … recorded four sacks for 20 yards and collected three interceptions … helped lead the team to the 1997 Sun Bowl (W 17-7 over Iowa) to mark the first time in 10 years the Sun Devils had been to consecutive bowl games.
1996 Season: Second-team All-Pac-10 selection…second on the team in tackles…started all 11 games…played a phenomenal all-around game in ASU’s win over Oregon…had an interception deep in ASU territory, recovered a fumble on a fourth-and-six play, had a sack, five tackles, seven assists and two tackles for losses…he even recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter…the interception was the first of his career…the sack was for 15 yards late in the game…named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts…had a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown in ASU’s win over Boise State….snagged a screen pass on the left side of the field and ran untouched into the end zone…also posted one tackle for loss for nine yards…had seven tackles, one assist, a fumble recovery and an interception in ASU’s rout of Stanford…two of those tackles were for losses…recovered a Chad Hutchinson fumble at the Cardinal 18 in the first quarter…ASU scored two plays later to go up 21-0…picked a Todd Husak pass in the third quarter, setting up a field goal…had nine tackles, five assists and three tackles for loss in ASU’s win at UCLA…those tackles for loss totaled eight yards…also broke up three passes…had five tackles and four assists in ASU’s 29-14 win at Oregon State…had four tackles and a six-yard sack in ASU’s 56-14 win at Arizona…had a tackle and six assists in ASU’s Rose Bowl clinching win over Cal…had a near-interception in the second quarter…also tipped a pass on third-and-seven in the second quarter…had two tackles and six assists in season-opening win against Washington…tipped a Shane Fortney pass on third-and seven from the UW 8-yard line, forcing the Huskies to punt…ASU scored via a punt return on the ensuing play…flew in from the right side and tipped a Damon West pass with is left hand, leading to Vince Amey’s 24-yard interception return in win against North Texas…also had eight assists in that contest…had a tackle and two assists in ASU’s upset of top-ranked Nebraska…earned Pac-10 All-Academic (3.86 in Marketing)…GTE Academic All-District VIII selection…Clyde B. Smith Academic Award.
1995 Season: Had an outstanding sophomore campaign, finishing seventh on the team with 47 total tackles…blossomed into ASU’s top reserve among the linebacking corp…finished fifth on the team with 32 unassisted tackles…recorded five or more tackles on six different occasions…posted a career-high eight tackles on two separate occasions: Versus Brigham Young, in which he collected five solos with a career-high three assists and at Cal, in which all eight of his tackles were unassisted, a new career-high…set the tone for his season in the season-opener at Washington in which he amassed five tackles, including two tackles for minus-seven yards and one quarter back sack for minus-five yards….tallied three solos and three assists versus Oregon State…also recorded five tackle performances at Nebraska and versus UCLA, collecting two and three solo, respectively in those games…earned post-season all-conference honors in athletics (second-team, utility) and academics (honorable mention).
1994 Season: Collected 10 tackles, including six solos, in his first season of eligibility…appeared mostly on special teams, but did play some rover back…even played free safety in the Oregon contest…on his first career play from scrimmage at California, he sacked Golden Bear quarterback Dave Barr for an 11 yard loss…made two tackles each versus Miami and Washington State…the two against Miami were solos…made at least one tackle in every game except for the Brigham Young and UCLA contests.
Personal: Major is Marketing…parents are Patrick (attorney) and Mary (teacher) Tillman of San Jose, Calif.…born November 6, 1976 in Fremont, Calif. …has two younger brothers…brother Kevin plays for ASU’s nationally ranked baseball team…lists most exciting experience in sports as defeating Live Oak High in a semi-final game of the Central Coast Section Championships 28-27 after being behind by 14 points in the first half…enjoys rock climbing, snow and water skiing and reading…full name is Patrick Daniel Tillman
Career Highs:
Unassisted Tackles: 9, twice, last time at UCLA (10/12/96)
Assisted Tackles: 6, twice, last time vs. California (11/9/96).
Total Tackles: 14 at UCLA (10/12/96). Tackles For Loss: 3, at UCLA (10/12/96)
Quarterback Sacks: 1, four times, last time at Arizona (11/23/96)
Fumble Recoveries: 2, last time at Stanford (10/26/96).
Interceptions: 4, last time at Stanford (10/26/96)
HONORS EARNED IN HIS CAREER:
- 1997 All-American (2nd team)
- 1997 Burger King Scholarship Award Winner
- 1997 Sporting News Honda Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 1997 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year
- 1996 Second Team All Pac-10 Outside Linebacker
- 1995 Second Team All Pac-10 All-Purpose Specialist
- 1996, 1997 GTE District VIII Academic All-American
- 1996, 1997 Academic All Pac-10
- 1995 Academic All Pac-10 Honorable Mention
- 1997 ASU Most Valuable Player
- 1996, 1997 Clyde B. Smith Academic Award
- 1997 East-West Shrine, Outside Linebacker