The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Tony Hills: Preparing for the NFL Draft
04.17.2008 | Football
Part of becoming an elite athlete is facing and overcoming challenges. To defeat those challenges, an athlete must use determination, perseverance and hard work. In the case of Tony Hills, NFL teams will have no doubts that he possesses those attributes.
Recruited out of Elsik High School in Alief, Texas, Hills was planning to be a part of the Longhorns' 2003 recruiting class. After catching a pass in the class 5A state semifinals, Hills was tackled awkwardly and severely injured his left knee. In the blink of an eye, Hills went from being the number one ranked tight end prospect in the nation, to facing the possibility of never playing football again.
After a visit to the Texas campus in December 2002, Coach Brown promised to honor Hills' scholarship, and Hills endured multiple surgeries and worked to repair his knee. One year later, Hills walked onto the UT campus as a member of the 2004 recruiting class.
"He kept working through that adversity (of the knee injury), got where he could, didn't move quite as well as he needed to to play tight end, so we asked him to try tackle and he moved in there without any reservation whatsoever," said Texas OL coach Mac McWhorter. "He really embraced himself to the position and got better and better. He played two years as the top back up and then started for two years and had a very good career with us."
Hills adjusted so well and so quickly to the new position that he played in 45 games, earning an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection and a spot on ESPN's All-Mayday Team, a team assembled as the "Toughest of the Tough," as a junior. On his way to a first team All-Big 12 selection as a senior, Hills' senior campaign was going exactly like his first three seasons, injury-free, until he suffered a broken fibula in his left leg against Texas Tech, ending his Longhorn career two games early.
To recover again from an injury to his left leg, Hills drew from the experience and mental toughness he gained from recovering from his first injury.
"Once you know how to come back from an injury, you know how much you can push it or when to step back, when to rest," said Hills. "That's been the biggest advantage I've had. I've been through an injury worse than this one. This has been a fight up hill, but it's been well worth it to be one step closer to my dream, to go play in the NFL."
Nearly four months to the day after breaking his leg, Hills was running, jumping and cutting for NFL scouts Wednesday at Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Complex.
"It's been a long, tough road," Hills said. "Draft day will be a time for me to sit back and see what I've accomplished so far. I'm definitely not finished, I still have a lot of dreams and goals that I want to accomplish in the NFL. It'll definitely be something for me to sit back with my family and just thank God about."
When asked about how he was able to rehab a second injury to the same leg in time to prepare for the NFL Draft, Hills chose to deflect the credit to many different people.
"It's a credit to the coaching staff here, Coach Brown, Coach Madden, Cleve (Bryant), all those guys allow me to perform here," replied Hills. "The fans of Texas have been great. I've had a great support cast here with the fans, from sending letters to the house, to e-mails, people on the streets saying they're rooting for me. It's like they say, once you become a Longhorn, you're a Longhorn for life."
Although Hills' career as a Texas Longhorn is over, his legacy of dedication to the team and himself, perseverance and hard work will not soon be forgotten.
"He'll certainly be a good example for years to come," said McWhorter. "His perseverance has been unbelievable. He has always had great drive and ambition; he set his goals and really worked to reach them."
Now, he only has to wait a few more weeks to fulfill another goal, playing in the NFL.
