Tilford is a 6-2, 206, Freshman running back from Colony HS, Ontario, CA. His Senior year he ran for 2031 yards on 9.1 ypc and 30 TDs plus 25 catches for 601 yards and 8 more TDs and had 1 more TD on a punt return.
Not impressed by his high school production. Neither is Tilford. He enrolled early and has already been working to show he is ready to carry the ball for Arizona. Here's what Coach Rod and his teammates think of Tilford from this spring courtesy of AZDS:
“He’s a guy that loves football, graduated early so he could get here and get spring practice,” Rich Rodriguez said of his running back recruit after the team’s spring showcase. “He’s just got the right approach. He’s got a lot to learn, but coach (Calvin) Magee will get him ready and he’ll have a great career I think.”
“He’s eager to learn,” Zach Green added about his position-mate. “He’s just ready to play, and he’s always coming in and asking us about information and stuff like that, so he can’t wait.”
“He’s gonna be a monster, no doubt about it,” J.J. Taylor continued.
“He’s a big back for sure. It’s a sight to see I’ll tell ya. It’s quite different,” Arizona linebacker Brandon Rutt explained. “You gotta go for the thighs against him, but he’s done pretty good. I went up against him a couple times this scrimmage and he did very good, so I think he’s gonna be a great add for us as a running back.”
“I think it’s his length and his power,” Green said about Tilford’s biggest strengths. “You guys might not see it now but he has a lot of power; kids just slide off him in practice so I can’t wait to see him actually do that.”
“He’s a big running back and he can bring a lot of power to the offense,” Shun Brown added. “I feel like he’s gonna be a good player.”
“In the South,” Brown joked about if he’s seen running backs at that height. “But here, not really. Most of the running backs are like 5-11 ya know, but I’ve seen a lot of 6-2 running backs.”
“But he’s one of those backs that’s 6-2 and you better get out the way.”
33 was Nate Phillip's team high number of catches last year (Shun Brown led the team in receiving yards). By comparison Wash St had 7 receivers with 33 catches or more and Gabe Marks led their team with 89 grabs.
