Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill was one of the guys that blew up the combine. He measured in at 6'4", 215lbs with long 33 3/8" arms and 9 3/8" hands. Combine that frame with a 4.36 forty yard dash, a 39.5" vertical and a broad jump of over 11 feet, and you have a top combine performer.
Stock On The Rise: Wide Receiver Stephen Hill
On top of all that, he competed in on-field drills and made one particularly impressive diving catch. The result of all of this is that his stock goes through the roof and mock drafters jump him from previously as low as the fourth round to as high as the top half of the first round.
What’s important to remember in all of this hype is that he only had 28 receptions this season with Georgia Tech’s option offense. Most of those were deep vertical routes, which brings his route running in to question. He also had a couple of big drops, although it’s believed those were down to a lack of concentration rather than poor hands. To his credit, he did manage to average nearly 30 yards a catch, with a total of 820 yards on the season and five touchdowns to go with it.
Hill had is Georgia Tech pro-day yesterday, with the intention to show that he can run solid routes. With NFL scouts and coaches from across the country in attendance, Hill built on the hype from the combine. He admitted to Mike Mayock on NFL Network that he felt he could have come out of his breaks a bit quicker, but Mayock said overall, he impressed. Saying he needs to come out of his breaks quicker suggests that he’s not use to shorter routes and he knows they require work.
Ultimately though, Hill has definitely helped himself in the pre-draft process. He will force NFL teams to go back and re-watch his game film to decide if he is just a workout warrior, or if he can be a legitimate threat in the NFL. I might try to find some Hill footage to do a tale of the tape post to help me come to my own conclusion on the topic.
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