Just Doug Martin days ’til football now (Side note—I’m still devastated about the news of his passing, but he’ll always be remembered here as an all-time great). As for today, we have a new guy that may just see the field right away. Presenting Mr. Roman Tillmon:
#22, Roman Tillmon, Senior, DB
Stats
Height: 5’11
Weight: 195
High school: Fort Osage HS (Independence, MO)
How’d he get to The Blue™?
Roman was a 2-star guy coming out of high school, earning him a spot as South Dakota U. He played 6 games in his true freshman season and then all 14 games his redshirt freshman season (don’t ask me how that works with redshirts). After a stellar RS Sophomore season, he jumped into a portal that landed in Boyzee, Idaho. Crazy how that works.
Nickname
“Day 1”
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but what Roman is building might be better.
Look-alike
After some deliberation, the lookalike machine went with actor Justice Smith. I never argue with the lookalike machine, although I hope he reaches his full potential faster than Justice’s character did in Honor Among Thieves.
Career Highlights
Tillmon tacked up 94 tackles a season ago at South Dakota State, including 45 solo tackles. Add on 6 PBUs, one forced fumble, and 2.5 tackles for loss and you’ve got a preeeety nice statline.
2026 Prospectus
Many expect him to get the starting role at nickel, which is where Jaden Mickey played a year ago. You never know until the season starts, but Tillmon seems to have the needed tackling pedigree to fill the role. It can be a tough transition to FBS football, but there’s a lot of optimism that he can be that guy in 2026.
Is he on Twitter?
He has an aptly named account, @RomanTillmon, although scarce in the tweets department.
Completely made up fact
Roman’s ideal tootsie roll flavor? Why ask when you know the answer? It’s the vanilla ones, ya know, with the blue wrapper?
There are some high hopes for this guy. It might take a year or half a year to adjust.