Hilliard awaits fate in NFL Draft

Kenny Hilliard’s lifelong dream of playing pro football will come true this weekend.
All the blood, sweat and tears he’s shed since he was 7 years old comes down to the three-day marathon known as the NFL Draft. The 2015 draft starts tonight and goes through Saturday.
But Hilliard won’t be in Chicago with the commissioner as he may have dreamed, he’ll be in Baton Rouge surrounded by friends and family.
“We haven’t even decided where we’ll be in Baton Rouge yet, we’ll decide that later today,” Hilliard said Wednesday. “But as long as my family’s with me, I’m good.”
The top picks will be in Chicago for the league’s made-for-television drama.
“This whole process has been crazy. I’ve just tried to be around positive, supporting people. When all of this stuff starts to get to me, I’ll go up to the school (LSU) and workout or hangout,” he said. “I’ve also been riding down to Morgan City to hang out with Brandon Harden, my cousin Tank (Terrence Calais) and the other coaches at Morgan City High or I go home to Patterson to hang out with family and close friends.”
Hilliard graduated from Patterson High School in December 2010 and enrolled early at LSU in January of 2011. He earned his degree from LSU in December.
He finished his career at Patterson as Louisiana’s all-time rushing leader (8,603 yards and 106 touchdowns) and turned in his best season at LSU during his freshman year in 2011. Hilliard scored a career-high three touchdowns in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Georgia when he rushed for two TDs and caught one in the third quarter. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week distinction after he set career highs with 19 carries and 102 yards against Arkansas.
Hilliard was also named to the 2011 SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team.
He finished his Tigers’ career with 302 attempts for 1,557 yards and 27 touchdowns.
But Hilliard missed the final two games of his senior season last year because of a shoulder injury. He had 434 yards and six touchdowns before suffering the injury against Alabama.
“The shoulder is fine; I was totally healthy for my pro day (when NFL coaches and scouts come to college campuses to watch draftees work out),” he said. “I worked really hard to get ready for the (NFL) combine and my pro day. I trained at Traction (Center for Sports Excellence in Baton Rouge). I had a good group, too, with (former LSU teammates) D.J. Welter and Travis Dickson and a couple dudes from Southeastern.”
Hilliard’s combine, however, didn’t go as planned. The 6-foot, 235-pound running back ran 4.69 and 4.68 seconds in the 40-yard dash, slow for even a big running back.
“Everything was so overwhelming at the combine,” Hilliard said. “They want to get you out of your element like waking up to do interviews or test at four or five in the morning. I was glad to get invited. It was a good life experience but I wasn’t feeling it.”
Hilliard’s football future now depended on his pro day.
On March 27 at the LSU indoor facility, Hilliard turned in a more impressive 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. While his initial burst was well below standard in Indianapolis, he showed the NFL coaches, brass and scouts that he does have enough explosiveness to play in the NFL.
“It felt good. I’ve been running those times since I left the combine,” he said.
But then he had to prove to teams he is worthy of being drafted after an up and down career at LSU.
“I think they know what I can do,” he said. “I hear from different teams every day. But if I had to base it on the phone calls and stuff, I would say the (Houston) Texans or the (Atlanta) Falcons are gonna take me.”
One team Hilliard hasn’t heard from is the New Orleans Saints. His uncle, Dalton Hilliard, played his entire eight-year career in the Crescent City.
“They were at my pro day though,” Hilliard said. “But my uncle told me the Saints have a history of not bringing in players they like.”
Kenny Hilliard will be the third member of his family to play pro football. Cousin Ike Hilliard and Dalton Hilliard both had long careers in the league.
“They’ve advised me on some stuff but they also want this to be my moment,” he said.
Kenny Hilliard says most people think he is bitter with LSU because he was forced to share playing time with a stable of running backs at LSU.
“I’m good with my career,” he said. “I’m blessed I don’t have a lot of wear and tear on my body. So I’m going in the league healthy and ready to go.”
Hilliard’s former LSU teammate Alfred Blue was taken in the sixth round of last year’s draft by the Texans. Blue had a similar career to Hilliard’s at LSU.
Blue made Houston’s squad as a special teamer and backup running back.
“I’m just leaving it all in God’s hands,” Kenny Hilliard said. “The draft is unpredictable and so you really don’t know what the deal is. I just really want to make a roster and contribute to any team that wants me. My motivation is my family. I just want to ball and take care of them.”
––LSUsports.net and theadvocate.com contributed to this story.
--By CORWIN MURRAY