When Ohio State signed Justin Hilliard out of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, they knew they were getting a good one. Hilliard was a five-star guy in the 2015 class and was ranked the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 35 player overall according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Unfortunately for Hilliard and the Buckeyes, injuries plagued most of his career in scarlet and gray. He’s had glimpses of greatness, but this season Hilliard was able to stay healthy and showed us all what he could do. And he played his best when his team needed him the most in the Big Ten Championship game and in the Sugar Bowl against Clemson.
After an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, Hilliard again is making a name for himself. This time drawing the attention of the Senior Bowl Director, Jim Nagy. Sharing via Twitter, Nagy said that no one had helped themselves more than Hilliard over the last two months.
No player in 2021 draft helped himself more over past two months than @OhioStateFB LB Justin Hilliard (@JHilliard47). Former 5⭐️ overcame string of injuries to excel in CFP and was one of top performers Senior Bowl week. This drop & drive is exactly what NFL is looking for at LB. pic.twitter.com/9TMF7sgG8W
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 11, 2021
An NFL GM will most likely take a chance on the Ohio State product in the upcoming draft, and whoever that NFL GM is may just end up looking like a genius.
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