Peyton Hillis

Peyton Hillis

File:Peyton Hillis (or Jim Brown, Part Two).jpg
Cleveland Browns
Career information
College:	Arkansas
NFL draft:	2008 / round: 7 / pick: 227
Career history
Denver Broncos (2008–2009) Cleveland Browns (2010–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
2008 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week (Week 13)
Career NFL statistics as of 2010
Rushing yards: 1041 Rushing average: 4.9 Rushing TDs: 13 Receiving yards: 427 Receiving average: 8.9 Receiving TDs: 2

Peyton "Thundercock" Hillis (born January 21, 1986 in Conway, Arkansas) is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arkansas.

Early years

Hillis was born to Doug and Carrie Hillis on January 21, 1986 and raised in Conway, Arkansas. He played football for Conway High School from 1999–2003, where he played primarily as a fullback. As a junior, he rushed for 1,427 yards and 17 touchdowns, adding 133 yards and two touchdowns on receptions. As a senior, he rushed for 2,631 yards and 29 touchdowns on 261 carries for an average of 10.1 yards per carry. For his efforts, Hillis earned numerous Arkansas state football honors, including the 2003 Marvin Delph Award (named after the Conway native and Arkansas Razorback basketball legend), which identifies the Conway sportsman of the year, the 2003 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the 2003 Landers Award, which recognizes the top high school football player in Arkansas. Nationally, Hillis was named to the Parade All-America football team. Rivals.com listed him as the #1 fullback in the country and the #2 prospect from Arkansas for the 2004 college signing season. He was recruited by several schools nationwide including Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee and Michigan, but chose to attend the University of Arkansas.

College career

Hillis during his college years at Arkansas

Hillis attended college at the University of Arkansas -Fayetteville from 2004–2008, majoring in Sociology. As a true freshman, Hillis gained 240 yards rushing, 97 yards receiving, and scored 8 touchdowns, ranking 4th in the SEC in total touchdowns and tying Georgia's Thomas Brown for most touchdowns scored by a SEC freshman that year.

Sophomore Year

His sophomore year, Hillis accounted for 947 all-purpose yards (including more than 200 in kick-off and punt returns) and seven touchdowns while also serving as a blocker for up-and-coming star running back duo Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

Junior Year

Hillis' junior year was marked by a change in duty as the Razorbacks began to utilize McFadden and Jones as the feature backs. Hillis remained instrumental to the Razorbacks' offense as a blocker from the fullback and tight end positions, allowing McFadden and Jones to accumulate more than 2000 combined rushing yards and helping catapult the Razorbacks to a NCAA top 10 position. The success continued through week 10 against the Tennessee Volunteers, when Hillis suffered a season-ending deep thigh bruise from an illegal hit after calling fair catch on a punt return. Although the Razorbacks went on to beat Tennessee 31-14, Hillis was out on injured reserve the next few weeks as the Razorbacks lost consecutive games against LSU in the regular season finale, Florida in the 2006 SEC Championship Game, and Wisconsin in the 2007 Capital One Bowl. For his effectiveness as a blocker during the first half of the 2006 season, Hillis was recognized as the best blocking back in the Southeastern Conference by The Birmingham News. Furthermore, Phil Steele’s College Football Preview rated Hillis as the #1 fullback in the nation for the 2007 college football season. Hillis underwent extensive physical therapy in the off-season to repair damage to his thigh and was slated to return for the 2007 season opener.

Senior Year

Hillis’ senior year at Arkansas was marked by a more active role in the Razorbacks’ offense, balancing duties as a blocking tight end, rusher, and drop-back receiver. He accumulated over 850 all-purpose yards and 7 touchdowns, averaging more than 5 yards per carry and 11 yards per reception while again serving as an integral blocker for repeat 1000-yard rushers McFadden and Jones. He was the team’s leading receiver and blocking back with 49 receptions and 52 knockdown blocks on the season. For his recovery efforts from numerous injuries throughout his tenure at Arkansas culminating in the 2006-2007 off-season and impressive play during the 2007 season, Hillis received the 2007 Paul Eells Award for the Arkansas player showing outstanding character through adversity.

In his collegiate career, Hillis generated 960 rushing yards, 1197 receiving yards, 23 total touchdowns, and added 470 yards on special teams in his four years at Arkansas. One of the most versatile players on the Razorbacks' offensive roster, Hillis was eventually used as a fullback, halfback, tight end, wide receiver, kick returner, and punt returner at different points in his collegiate career.

Statistics

		Rushing					Receiving					Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
Year	G	Att	Yrds	Avg	TD	Lg	Rec	Yrds	Avg	TD	Lg	No.	Yrds	Avg	TD	Lng	No.	Yrds	Avg	TD	Lng
2004	10	63	240	3.8	6	42	12	97	8.1	2	18	7	128	18.3	0	30	0	0	0	0	0
2005	11	65	315	4.8	3	32	38	402	10.6	4	45	3	65	21.7	0	23	16	165	10.3	0	27
2006	10	13	57	4.9	1	12	19	159	8.4	0	21	1	18	18	0	18	8	92	11.5	0	27
2007	13	62	348	5.6	2	65	49	539	11	5	34	1	2	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	0
Totals	44	203	960	4.7	12	65	118	1,197	10.1	11	45	12	213	17.8	0	30	25	257	10.3	0	27

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables
Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20 ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6-0¾*	240 *	4.58 **	1.59 *	2.68 *	4.24 **	7.15 *	35" **	9'09" *	26 *
* represents NFL Combine **represents Arkansas Pro Day "X" Denotes "No Data" or "Did Not Participate"

Denver Broncos

Hillis before a game during his tenure with the Denver Broncos

Hillis was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round (227th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. At the start of the 2008 season, Hillis was listed as the Broncos' starting fullback. He played in his first NFL regular season game on September 8, 2008, gaining 14 yards on three rushing attempts and four yards on one reception as part of a 41-14 Broncos road victory over the Oakland Raiders. Later in the season, he recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown in a 26-17 Broncos home loss to the Miami Dolphins on November 2, 2008.

Following an injury to Ryan Torain in the Broncos 34-30 comeback road victory over the Cleveland Browns, Hillis was named Denver's starting running back. His first start at the position netted him 44 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries as part of a 24-20 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Two weeks later, he recorded his first 100-yard rushing game with 129 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts in a 34-17 road victory over the New York Jets. The performance earned Hillis multiple honors including being named Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week as well as FedEx Ground Player of the Week alongside Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, who was named NFL Air Player of the Week. The string of victories and accolades built up anticipation among Broncos faithful for Hillis to continue as running back for the rest of the season. However, the season already plagued with running back injuries continued, with Hillis suffering a season-ending injury in a 24-17 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Coming down from an acrobatic catch of a Cutler pass with his right foot planted, Hillis was hit from both sides by Chiefs' free safety Jarrad Page and cornerback Brandon Carr. The hit doubled Hillis over, causing a 2-3 inch tear in his right hamstring behind the knee, which forced him to miss the rest of the season. Despite his limited playing time, Hillis ended the 2008 season as the Broncos' leading rusher with 343 yards and 5 touchdowns and was expected to return as a significant offensive presence for the 2009 season.

With the loss of Hillis, depth at the running back position was practically nil and the Broncos fell to 8-8 on the season and failed to make the play-offs. Due to a lack of post-season berths in recent years, Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan was fired during the off-season and replaced by Josh McDaniels. McDaniels' first order of business was to recruit new talent to fit his playing scheme, which involved adding depth to the running back position with first round draft pick Knowshon Moreno and free agent Correll Buckhalter. In week three of the 2009 pre-season, Hillis rushed for a touchdown, but competition for the starting running back position was stiff. A combination of factors including monies guaranteed to Moreno and Buckhalter and an early season fumble on the opening kick-off against the Cleveland Browns left Hillis back in the depth chart and led to limited playtime through the 2009 season. Despite rising to the starting fullback position and becoming the leading rusher the previous year, Hillis had only 54 yards on 13 carries in the 2009 season. As the Broncos offense collapsed late-season and Hillis still saw no significant playtime, fans began speculating about a disagreement between Hillis and McDaniels as had been the case with other Shanahan carry-overs. Racial discrimination has also been mentioned as a potential cause as Hillis is one of a very limited number of white running backs in the NFL. In a post-season interview, Hillis expressed disappointment over his playtime on the season, but remained tight-lipped about the controversy, maintaining that conversations between him and McDaniels were "friendly". In the same interview, Hillis was quoted as saying his future in Denver was "up in the air". On March 14, 2010, the Broncos traded Hillis to the Cleveland Browns along with a sixth-round pick in the 2011 Draft and a conditional pick in the 2012 Draft in exchange for quarterback Brady Quinn.

Cleveland Browns

Hillis' arrival in Cleveland was met with great anticipation after the results of his active stint in Denver during the 2008 season. During the 2010 preseason, the Browns distributed snaps evenly between Hillis, Jerome Harrison, James Davis, and Montario Hardesty (upon returning from injury). Hillis' best pre-season rushing game came in Week 2 against the Rams when, getting the majority of the snaps, Hillis ran for 51 yards on 12 carries (4.3 ypc).

As the regular season began, Hillis' start in Cleveland began much the same way as it did in Denver, listed down the depth chart at both tight end and fullback. Also like his start in Denver, early season injuries to Harrison and Davis thrust Hillis into the starting spot for the Week 3 game versus the Baltimore Ravens. The result was a 144 yard (6.5 ypc) romp against the Ravens' staunch rushing defense, which allowed just 3.4 yards per carry in the 2009 season. Hillis also added 36 yards on 7 receptions for a total of 180 all-purpose yards. The next week, Hillis again ran for over 100 yards at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, leading the Browns to their first victory in the 2010 regular season. A hamstring pull in practice limited Hillis in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons, though Hillis did add a 19-yard reception for a touchdown, making him the first Browns player since Greg Pruitt to record touchdowns in five consecutive games, though Pruitt's came all through rushing. Coming off a bye week in Week 8, Hillis set career marks in both rushing and all-purpose yards against the New England Patriots in Week 9, finishing the game with 184 rushing yards (6.5 ypc) and 220 yards of total offense. Following this game, Hillis was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9, the first Cleveland Browns running back to win that honor since Eric Metcalf in 1992.

Awards and honors

• Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week - Week 13 (2008)
• NFL Ground Player of the Week - Week 13 (2008)
• AFC Offensive Player of the Week - Week 9 (2010)

External links

• Arkansas Razorbacks bio
• Denver Broncos bio
• Cleveland Browns bio