Getty Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs
Tyreek Hill is arguably the NFL‘s most electric playmaker. Honestly, Lamar Jackson may be the only other name in the league that has a reasonable stake to that claim. Hill’s talent precedes him, something that has helped get him to this point in his career, despite a plethora of pitstops along the way.
However, it was not too long ago that the idea of the current Kansas City Chiefs star partaking in an NFL Super Bowl was unfathomable. Hill bounced around three different colleges on his journey to the NFL. Going from a highly sought-after JUCO recruit to being kicked off of a prominent Big 12 team, to resurfacing in Division II. Hill’s road to NFL stardom has been anything but conventional.
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Hill Was the 3rd -Ranked JUCO Prospect in the Nation
Hill’s journey to the pros kicked off at Coffee High School located in Douglas, Georgia. During his time in High School, Hill quickly demonstrated the speed that we all know him for today. The now-Chiefs wide receiver broke multiple track records while at Coffee on his way to being named the Track and Field News High School Athlete of the Year back in 2012. Hill would go on to clock an insane 4.25 40-yard dash at a Nike Sparq Camp during the recruiting process.
Despite his numerous accolades, Hill kicked off his college career at the JUCO level, enrolling at Garden City Community College as a Freshman. However, he didn’t really get to show his true football prowess until the next season, where he accumulated nearly 1,200 total offensive yards as a Sophomore.
Hill’s dominance on the field made him a highly touted recruit. 247Sports had Hill ranked as the top all-purpose back in JUCO in the 2014 class and the third-ranked JUCO prospect overall, a list that was topped by current Buffalo Bills wideout Duke Williams. Hill’s 4-Star rating earned him offers from prominent programs such as Alabama and Florida State, amongst others. Ultimately, Hill would opt to take his talents to Oklahoma State.
Hill’s Big 12 Dominance Overshadowed by Off-Field Troubles
Hill quickly earned playing time with Oklahoma State. While he operated mostly as a running back, his dual-threat abilities were visible from the get-go. Hill played 12 games with the Cowboys in 2014, accumulating 815 total offensive yards, while adding another 256 in return yards.
However, 2014 would prove to be Hill’s final season with OSU, as the school would proceed to dismiss him from both their football and track team due to his highly publicized domestic violence arrest.
Hill Found Second Chance at the Division II Level
Hill would resurface the following season at Division 2, University of West Alabama. Brett Gilliland, the coach at West Alabama, had reportedly turned down Hill’s request to join the program initially, as he was turned off by the details in Hill’s domestic violence police report.
However, Gilliland would eventually be swayed to change his mind after speaking to Hill one-on-one, as well as Hill’s former high school and college coaches and mentors.
On the field, Hill did not dominate the way one would expect a player of his caliber to dominate after dropping down a level from top-tier Division I football. Hill never eclipsed 100-yards receiving or rushing, and found the end zone just twice on the offensive side of the ball. However, Hill kept his nose clean and was still able to demonstrate enough of his raw God-given abilities on film to pique the interest of one specific NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hill was expected to go undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, as the majority of teams took the wideout off their draft boards due to his off-the-field issues. However, Kansas City shocked many by scooping Hill in the fifth-round.
While there have been a bit more hiccups along the way, Hill has developed into one of the league’s top players at his position and is a key reason why the Chiefs have a chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy tonight.
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