Jerry Tillery is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana and attended Evangel Christian Academy. Believe it or not, Tillery was actually a First-Team All-State offensive lineman while also earning Defensive Player of the Year honors by the Shreveport Times.
With no redshirt to wait through, Tillery saw significant snaps as a true freshman. IN 13 games with three starts, he totaled 12 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and his first collegiate sack. His sophomore included a new starting role for Tillery. In a career-high 11 starts, he recorded 37 tackles and three tackles for loss but no sacks.
As a junior, Tillery started all 13 games and set career-highs across the board with 56 total tackles, nine for loss, 4.