Dontrell Hilliard

Dontrell Hilliard (born February 26, 1995) is an American football running back and return specialist for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane, and has played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns.

Dontrell Hilliard

Hilliard in 2019
No. 22 – Houston Texans
Position:	Running back Return specialist
Personal information
Born:	February 26, 1995 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:	Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
College:	Tulane
Undrafted:	2018
Career history
Cleveland Browns (2018–2020) Houston Texans (2020–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
2nd Team All-AAC (2017)
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Rushing yards: 97 Rushing average: 4.4 Rushing touchdowns: 2 Receptions: 22 Receiving yards: 199 Receiving touchdowns: 0 Return yards: 917 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Hillard attended and played high school football at Scotlandville Magnet High School.[1] He received offers from Tulane and Oklahoma State before committing to the Green Wave.[2]

College career

While at Tulane, Hilliard rushed for 2,948 yards and 30 touchdowns and caught 70 passes for 740 yards and four touchdowns over the course of four seasons (47 games).[3] As a senior, Hilliard was third in the American Athletic Conference with 1,091 rushing yards and rushed for 12 touchdowns and was named second team All-AAC.[4]

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Hilliard signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2018. Hilliard was signed to the Browns practice squad on September 2, 2018 after not making the 53-man roster out of training camp.[5] Hilliard was promoted to the Browns' active roster on October 9, 2018.[6] Hilliard made his NFL debut on October 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers, returning one kick for 31 yards and recording a tackle on special teams.[7] In his rookie season, Hilliard caught nine passes for 105 yards and returned 11 kicks for 264 yards (24.0 average), as well as making three tackles on special teams, in 11 games played.[8]

Hillard scored his first touchdown on a four-yard run, the first carry of his professional career, on Week 1 of the 2019 season against the Tennessee Titans.[9] He was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2019.[10] Overall, he appeared in 14 games in the 2019 season. He recorded 13 carries for 49 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with 12 receptions for 92 receiving yards and led the team with 421 kickoff return yards and 107 punt return yards.[11]

Hilliard was tendered by the Browns for the 2020 season.[12] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on July 26, 2020,[13] and activated from the list nine days later.[14] He was waived on September 5, 2020.[15] The Browns re-signed Hilliard to their practice squad on September 6, 2020.[16] He was promoted to the active roster on September 30, 2020.[17] Hilliard was waived by the Browns on December 13, 2020.[18]

Houston Texans

On December 15, 2020, Hilliard was claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans.[19]

NFL statistics

Season	Team	Games		Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Fum	Lost
2018	CLE	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	105	11.7	24	0	0	0
2019	CLE	3	0	7	31	4.4	11	2	9	82	9.1	19	0	0	0
2020	CLE	2	0	5	19	3.8	10	0	1	2	1	2	0	0	0

References

1. Althage, Reid. "Recruit Spotlight: RB Dontrell Hilliard, Scotlandville High School, Class of 2014". LA Football Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
2. "Dontrell Hilliard Recruit Interests". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
3. Edwards, Josh (September 24, 2018). "Browns announce tight end swap on practice squad". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
4. Smith, Guerry (November 29, 2017). "Tulane cornerback Parry Nickerson named first-team All-AAC, three other teammates honored". The Advocate. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
5. Edwards, Josh (September 2, 2018). "Report: Browns add two to the practice squad". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
6. Risdon, Jeff (October 9, 2018). "Browns promote RB Dontrell Hilliard to active roster, waive Jeremiah McKinnon". BrownsWire. USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
7. Risdon, Jeff (October 15, 2018). "By the numbers: key figures from Browns-Chargers in Week 6". BrownsWire. USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
8. "Dontrell Hilliard 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
9. Harris, Brittany (September 8, 2019). "'We killed ourselves with penalties': Browns players react to tough loss against Titans in home opener". Fox8.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
10. "Browns elevate G Colby Gossett; place RB Dontrell Hilliard on injured reserve". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 24, 2019.
11. "Dontrell Hilliard 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
12. Greetham, Fred (March 16, 2020). "Browns Tender Hunt With 2nd-Round, 3 Others; Release Burnett". 247Sports.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
13. Cabot, Mary Kay (July 26, 2020). "Browns RB Dontrell Hilliard and DB Jovante Moffatt among first 6 NFL players to land on the new Reserve/Covid-19 list". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
14. "Browns activate RB Dontrell Hilliard, S Jovante Moffatt". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
15. Gribble, Andrew (September 5, 2020). "Browns announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2020 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
16. "Browns Claim Two Players; Announce 14 Practice Squad Members". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 6, 2020.
17. "Browns sign RB Dontrell Hilliard to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 30, 2020.
18. "Browns activate G Wyatt Teller". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 13, 2020.
19. "Houston Texans Transactions (12-15-20)". HoustonTexans.com. December 15, 2020.

External links

• Cleveland Browns bio
• Tulane Green Wave bio