Texas picks up commitment from LB Marcus Tillman

In what will almost certainly go down as one of the swiftest recruitments for the Texas Longhorns in the 2019 recruiting cycle, linebacker Marcus Tillman gave Texas a commitment on Saturday morning.

Tillman, out of Orlando Jones, visited Texas on Friday for the Stars At Night camp and picked up an offer before leaving campus. He wasted no time in giving the coaches a pledge and made a formal announcement of his commitment on late Saturday morning.

A 6-2, 220-pounder, Tillman chose Texas over offers from Florida, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Ohio State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech, among others. He was a previous commitment to Florida before decommitting in January. He becomes Texas’ 14th commitment in the 2019 recruiting class.

“He’s the prototypical sized middle linebacker,” said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy. “He’s not the longest guy but has some good weight. He’s definitely a guy you notice when you go to a game there at Jones. He looks the part. He’s the kind of guy that looks like he can put on weight and play right away. He does need to take off a little bit of bad weight and get a little faster. Working in coverage isn’t necessarily his strength right now but he’s really good at coming up and supporting the run, making hits. That’s where he makes his mark.”

Tillman is the Longhorns’ second linebacker commitment in the class, joining De’Gabriel Floyd. Both players have a flexible skill set that could help them see the field early at Texas.

“Tillman is a guy that can provide some versatility. He did play on the outside in his younger days and may play there this year, but I just think he’s going to play inside because of his size. Usually you want the longer guys on the outside. He’s someone you can plug and play. He can play outside if needed, has some versatility is good in run support, has a good frame.”

Tillman is ranked as a three-star prospect and had a total of about 20 offers when he chose Texas.