Ohio State Football: Hill can be next great Buckeye receiver in NFL

Wide receiver K.J. Hill had a historic career for the Ohio State football team, now he has a chance to be the next great former Buckeye receiver in the NFL.

K.J. Hill raised a lot of eyebrows at the Senior Bowl practices this week as videos went viral on Tuesday of the former Ohio State football wide receiver putting on a show. As he prepares for the draft, Hill certainly has a chance to become yet another great Ohio State receiver in the NFL.

Hill had a historic career at Ohio State as he is the program’s all-time leader in receptions. He is also sixth in receiving yards and sixth in receiving touchdowns. He was a model of consistency over the last four years.

In each of those statistical categories, Hill had better numbers than both Michael Thomas and Terry McLaurin.

Thomas has become the best receiver in the NFL over the last few years, catching over 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons, and earning First Team All-Pro honors each of the last two seasons. This year alone Thomas caught 149 passes for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns.

McLaurin, on the other hand, had a fantastic rookie season this year. McLaurin too showed out at Senior Bowl practice, ultimately improving his draft stock by being selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.

In his rookie year, McLaurin ultimately caught 58 passes for 919 yards and seven touchdowns, proving he is one of the best young receivers in the game.

For Hill, his speed is what really stood out at OSU and even in the Senior Bowl practices. Justin Rochat of FanSided’s NFLMock.com had this to say about Hill and his speed.

"The NFL has a whole workout at the scouting combine for this specific trait. Everyone is in love with speed, which will sometimes backfire. When evaluating a player’s speed you cannot just look at his 40-yard time.You must always look back at the game film to see if the player plays fast. K.J. Hill definitely plays fast on the football field. There were many plays where Hill would catch the ball underneath and looked like he would be stopped short, but he would just run right past the defenders for the first down. That’s the kind of speed you look for in a player. Vertical and horizontal."

Buckeye fans saw Hill make a lot of men miss throughout the past four years and while he maybe didn’t have eye-popping numbers during his senior season, Hill certainly has the talent to become a top receiver in the league.

If history has a way of repeating itself, Hill will succeed in the NFL. Ohio State knows how to prepare guys for the next level, just look at Thomas and McLaurin. Hill can easily become just another Buckeye that roasts secondaries.