Joe Hills (American football)

Joseph Hills (born October 2, 1987) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina from 2007 to 2008 before transferring to Tennessee State.

Joe Hills
refer to caption
Hills in 2017
Personal information
Born: (1987-10-02) October 2, 1987
Palmetto, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Palmetto (FL)
College:Tennessee State
Position:Wide receiver
Undrafted:2011
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena statistics
Receptions:726
Receiving yards:8,883
Touchdowns:230
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Early life

Hills attended Palmetto High School in Palmetto, Florida. There, he was a standout member of the football team being ranked as the No. 27 recruit at the wide receiver position.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Joseph Hills
WR		 Palmetto, Florida Palmetto High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 4.55 Nov 17, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 90 (WR)   Rivals: 27 (WR), 37 (FL)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "South Carolina Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  • "2007 South Carolina Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.

Hills committed to the University of South Carolina on November 17, 2006.[1] Hills chose South Carolina over football scholarships from Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Ole Miss, & Nebraska.[2]

College career

Hills played two seasons for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina. He played in 13 games, starting 3 games, for the Gamecocks, recording 11 receptions for 87 yards and one touchdown. After the 2008 season, Hills transferred to Tennessee State University. He played in 11 games, starting 9, in 2009, catching 39 passes for 528 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in 11 games, all starts, his senior year in 2010, catching 40 passes for 462 yards and 4 touchdowns.[3]

Professional career

Hills was rated the 64th best wide receiver in the 2011 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[4]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 211 lb
(96 kg)		 4.60 s1.58 s2.58 s4.44 s7.10 s37+1⁄2 in
(0.95 m)		10 ft 10 in
(3.30 m)		18 reps
All values from Pro Day[4]

Tennessee Titans

After failing to be drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, Hills was invited to training camp by the Tennessee Titans. Hills suffered an ankle injury during camp, ruining his chances at making the final roster. He was cut on September 4, 2011.[5]

Spokane Shock

Hills signed with the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League (AFL) before the 2012 season.

Tampa Bay Storm

Hills finished the 2012 season with the Tampa Bay Storm.

Hills had a big season for the Storm in 2013, earning 1st Team All-Arena honors, finishing in the top 7 of the league in receptions (133), receiving yards (1,861) and receiving touchdowns (42).[6][7]

Hills attended rookie minicamp with the Carolina Panthers in May 2013.[8]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hills was signed to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' practice roster on August 12, 2014.[9] He was released by the Tiger-Cats on August 29, 2014.[10]

Pittsburgh Power

On September 25, 2014, Hills was assigned to the Pittsburgh Power. The Power folded in November 2014, making Hills a free agent.[11]

Hills in 2017

Jacksonville Sharks

On December 30, 2014, Hills was assigned to the Jacksonville Sharks. Hills had a terrific season with the Sharks, breaking Jeron Harvey's team record for receptions. Hills was named a Second-team All-Arena selection in 2015. On October 21, 2015, Hills was assigned to the Sharks for the 2016 season. Hills went on to have another spectacular year for the Sharks in 2016 raking in 2,020 reception yards and 50+ touchdowns earning himself receiver of the year honors.[12] Hills won the 2016 Arena Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award.[13] He was also named the Cutters Receiver of the Year.[14]

Dalian Dragon Kings

In 2016, Hills was the first American selected (second overall pick) in the 2016 draft of the China Arena Football League being selected by the Dalian Dragon Kings.[15] However, he did not play for the team.[16][17]

Tampa Bay Storm

Hills was assigned to the Tampa Bay Storm on January 9, 2017. He was placed on league suspension on June 27, 2017.[18] He was named the AFL Wide Receiver of the Year in 2017.[19] He also earned First-team All-Arena honors.[20] The Storm folded in December 2017.[21]

Jacksonville Sharks

Hills signed with the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League on June 22, 2017.[22] He played in one game for the Sharks and then returned to the Storm.

Florida Tarpons

Hills signed with the Florida Tarpons of the American Arena League on January 12, 2018.

Albany Empire

Hills was assigned to the Albany Empire of the Arena Football League (AFL) on April 20, 2018.[23]

AFL statistics
YearTeam
RecYdsTD
2012Spokane141341
2012Tampa Bay3964813
2013Tampa Bay1331,86942
2014Tampa Bay1001,25238
2015Jacksonville1501,60742
2016Jacksonville1612,02058
2017Tampa Bay1291,35336
Career7268,883230

Stats from ArenaFan:[24]

References
  1. "Joseph Hills". www.rivals.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  2. "Joseph Hills". www.scout.com. Microsoft. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  3. "Joseph Hills". titansonline.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. "Joe Hills". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. "Cut by Titans, Joe Hills vows he will be back". www.brsoundingoff.blogspot.com. September 4, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  6. Jim Meehan (August 8, 2013). "Meyer, Tennell make All-AFL first-team offense". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  7. "Joe Hills Earns All-Arena Honors". www.620wdae.com. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. August 8, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  8. Alan Dell (May 5, 2013). "Joe Hills' Arena League heroics earn him an invitation to Carolina Panthers camp". www.brandton.com. Bradenton Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  9. "Ticats Add Receiver Joe Hills To Practice Roster". ticats.ca. August 12, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. "August 2014". cfl.ca. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  11. DiPaola, Jerry (November 17, 2014). "Power fold for now; AFL remains hopeful of keeping franchise viable". triblive.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  12. "Joe Hills to Suit up for Sharks in 2016". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  13. "Joe Hills Named Under Armour Offensive Player of the Year". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  14. "Jacksonville's Hills Named Cutters Receiver of the Year". arenafootball.cstv.com. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. Delladell, Adam (June 14, 2016). "Palmetto's Joe Hills first American drafted in new China Football League". bradenton.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. "Dalian Dragon Kings". caflfootball.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. Watkins, Rrik (December 26, 2016). "Superman Steps Out of Phone Booth, Sits Down with ITA". insidethearena.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. "Transactions". afldigital.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. "Tampa Bay's Hills Named Wide Receiver of the Year". arenafootball.com. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  20. "AFL Announces All-Arena First and Second Teams". AFL. Archived from the original on 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  21. "Tampa Bay Storm suspending operations". Tampa Bay Times. December 21, 2017.
  22. "ALL-ARENA WIDE RECEIVER JOE HILLS RETURNS TO SHARKS". jaxsharks.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  23. "Press Releases: Albany Empire Add Elite, All-Arena Wide Receiver (Albany Empire press release) | ArenaFan.com". www.arenafan.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  24. "Joe Hills". arenafan.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
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