
Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill at the NFL scouting combine. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/DLedbetter@ajc.com)
INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill said he planned to set the track ablaze at the NFL scouting combine and he came through with the promise.
Considered a fourth-round prospect before the combine, Hill improved his draft status by running the 40-yard dash in a dazzling 4.3 seconds on Sunday.
His second run was a 4.31 seconds, both are the fastest times so far at the combine.
Since declaring for the draft Jan. 5, Hill spent most of his time at the IMG training facility in Bradenton, Fla. He worked out with other draft hopefuls such as quarterback Russell Wilson from Wisconsin, quarterback Kirk Cousins and Rutgers wide receiver Mohamed Sanu.
Now, he likely won’t have to run the 40-yard dash at Tech’s pro day on March 6. He also spent time getting tutored by former Falcons wide receiver Terance Mathis, who was helping him with his route-running.
“I look more at small wideouts because I want to be the 6-4 wide receiver playing at 5-10,” said Hill, who said he’s talked to 25 of the 32 teams. “Coming out of my breaks, that’s my biggest thing that I’m trying to work on now.”
Among those training him in Florida was renowned speed coach Loren Seagrave.
Before the combine, Hill said, “I want to run a 4.4. But I feel like I can run a 4.3.”
At last year’s combine, four wide receivers ran in the 4.3 range (including Falcons draft pick Julio Jones) and 11 in the 4.4 range (including former Georgia star A.J. Green, now with Cincinnati.)
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–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
193 comments Add your comment
GTBob
February 26th, 2012
2:40 pm
While I do fill WnE is a clown, I agree with him that CPJ did not utilize him to his full potential.
I agree to an extent, but lets be honest. Hill dropped a lot of wide open passes, and Tevin wasn’t the greatest QB around. Would you have added 10 more passing plays a game when you know that most attempts are going to fail? I want CPJ to add more to the passing game also but I don’t think he had the right crew to do it this year.
Jacket Man
February 26th, 2012
2:41 pm
First Round
Tech Man
February 26th, 2012
2:44 pm
This is not CPJ’s fault that he can’t use WR’s. we haven’t had a QB who could consitently throw the ball. Our QB’s in the past three years have just thrown the ball up and hope fof the best. Hopefully, Vad Lee will be better. Tevin Washington has a lot of heart but he is not a DI qb. I think once he gets a qb that can throw the ball consitently we will be in good shape.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
2:48 pm
re:
While I do fill WnE is a clown, I agree with him that CPJ did not utilize him to his full potential.
I agree to an extent, but lets be honest. Hill dropped a lot of wide open passes, and Tevin wasn’t the greatest QB around. Would you have added 10 more passing plays a game when you know that most attempts are going to fail? I want CPJ to add more to the passing game also but I don’t think he had the right crew to do it this year.
__________________
GT Bob:
The NCAA only gives you 20-hrs. per week to practice, and CPJ loves his option so much that everything ELSE is expendable in favor of his “baby”.
Then you add in that you kneed (pun intended) small OLs that dive at kneecaps rather than pass block, and then you add in that great passing QBs won’t play for CPJ.
And after all that you end up with an offense that is great vs. crappy teams and spotty vs. good teams with little to no ability to pass when you need to pass to win a game.
The lack of REPS in practice causes timing errors that make QBs & WRs like Hill look bad in games, but the real culprit is lack of REPS in practice while CPJ focuses on the “mesh & the pitch”.
crackbaby
February 26th, 2012
2:51 pm
@WnE – When you call someone a stubborn idiot, I am ROFLMAO. Seriously, DUDE! Look in the mirror. Please post your picture so wikipedia can place it under the definition of stubborn.
Tech’s top WRs will continue to be drafted out of CPJ’s system b/c despite lacking a high number of catches, the yards per catch lead the NCAA and they can block fiercely.
Hill can play in the NFL. At what level remains to be seen.
GTBob
February 26th, 2012
2:51 pm
6-3 235lbs. and running a 4.38 Forty will get you on the field in ANY SYSTEM in college even at L$U & Bama with all their 4* & 5* Recruits.
Again, you are just making baseless assumptions. Neither LSU nor Bama recruited him. LSU and Bama consider passing an afterthought also, but the distribution is spread out more. I don’t really see how that would have helped Thomas. He had almost 400 more yards receiving then any of LSU’s wide receivers. He had about 600 more yards receiving then Julio Jones, who was Bama’s leading receiver. How would he have shined more in those systems?
@techfans
February 26th, 2012
2:54 pm
D. Thomas would most likely never had signed with Tech if PJ would’ve been at tech. Sounds like Hill has been getting some seriously good coaching the past few months, something he didn’t and never would’ve received under PJ. @Tech man , not Pjs fault? whos the head coach and should be recruiitng?Nesbitt had a great arm just no one to teach him proper mechanics.Tevins been in the system 4 years and has shown little improvement especially in the passing (or at tech) throwing game. If hill gets drafted high it would have nothing to do with the coaching he’s received at Tech.WNE is on the money.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
2:54 pm
re:
This is not CPJ’s fault that he can’t use WR’s. we haven’t had a QB who could consitently throw the ball. Our QB’s in the past three years have just thrown the ball up and hope fof the best. Hopefully, Vad Lee will be better. Tevin Washington has a lot of heart but he is not a DI qb. I think once he gets a qb that can throw the ball consitently we will be in good shape
___________________
He’s had FIVE recruiting classes to find a QB that can pass at the BCS -LEVEL!
He gets paid $2.5 Million to recruit such a QB, and what did he do this past Feb.?
He signed a 5-9 QB from Alabama that all the other HCs see as a DB or a WR and NOT a QB, so that means that CPJ is STUBBORN and still hasn’t learned his lesson.
RG-III coming out of HS was fast as heck, but he was always a pass-first QB and Verballed with Art Briles at Houston and then followed him to Baylor.
Pass-first QBs are out there but CPJ doesn’t want them.
In this year’s Recruiting Class ONLY GT wanted Dennis Andrews & Justin Thomas as QBs, every other HC in BCS Level FB saw them as Athletes or DBs or WRs.
CPJ doesn’t give a D@MN about developing a BCS-Level passing game!
AlabamaRamblinwreck
February 26th, 2012
2:55 pm
WnE….you are a piece of cold crap…..nuff said.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
February 26th, 2012
2:56 pm
Vad to Hill would have been special…..too bad we won’t see that, but I am very happy for Hill. He is a great young man.
WnE is a perfect example of unrequited love...
February 26th, 2012
3:02 pm
man to man love gone wrong. hell hath no fury like a WnE-man scorned eh WnE? closest thing to love is hate and we all know how much you have your boy paul.
unfortunately for you he has a completely different disposition as to what sex he prefers.
so i think that i speak for all of us here on the blog. it is time for you to move on. there is nothing you can say that will make paul love you. And your diatribe is pushing him and all future mates away from you.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
3:02 pm
re:
@WnE – When you call someone a stubborn idiot, I am ROFLMAO. Seriously, DUDE! Look in the mirror. Please post your picture so wikipedia can place it under the definition of stubborn.
Tech’s top WRs will continue to be drafted out of CPJ’s system b/c despite lacking a high number of catches, the yards per catch lead the NCAA and they can block fiercely.
Hill can play in the NFL. At what level remains to be seen.
____________________
Those guys Bay-Bay and Hill are hot NFL prospects because of GENETICS & HARD WORK!
Bay-Bay was 6-3 235lbs. and ran a 4.38 coing out of College, Hill is 6-4 215 & has run a 4.36 Official time at his combine, CPJ didn’t have D@MN thing to do with those Stats/measurables!
The NFL cares about size/speed/hands for WRs, blocking is a “bonus”, the NFL doesn’t give a damn about blocking in CPJ’s triple-option offense, the GT fanbase is simply in denial in believing that crap so that they can somehow DEFEND CPJ by trying to give him some of the “credit” for these guys hard work.
These WRs are getting to the NFL DESPITE CPJ and his Offense!
Ghost
February 26th, 2012
3:08 pm
Bob Julio Jones had 1133 yard receiving his junior year at Bama, Hill had 820 yard and disappeared in Big games 458 of his yards came in the 1st 4 games., Reuben Randall LSU leading receiver had over 900 yards receiving in 2011. where do your numbers come from?
WnE
February 26th, 2012
3:11 pm
At one time CPJ had These guys on the Roster at the SAME TIME:
Bay-Bay Thomas 6-3 235lbs. 4.38 forty
Kevin Cone 6-2 210lbs. 4.35 forty (400m track guy in HS & at Shorter College)
Stephen Hill 6-4 190lbs (back then) 4.36 forty – 25 foot long-jumper- 41-inch vertical
With those 3 guys on the roster at the same time they spent MOST OF THEIR TIME as “decoys” and Blocking for triple-SLOPtion plays rather than stretching defenses.
Now imagine those same 3 guys playing at USCw with Matt Barkley, or playing at USCe with Spurrier coaching them.
CPJ looked at ELITE physicals specimens at WR EVERY DAY IN PRACTICE and then proceeded to spend 16 of his 20 hrs per week practice time working on the friggin’ Triple-SLOPtion.
How can any INTELLIGENT GT Fan Defend that misuse of personnel?
If you have those kinds of Athletes at WR, then you throw the ball 35-40 friggin times per game!
WnE
February 26th, 2012
3:14 pm
re:
AlabamaRamblinwreck
February 26th, 2012
2:56 pm
____________________
If S. Hiil were YOUR SON and ran a 4.36 forty at the combine at 6-4 215lbs would you be happy with the way that CPJ in games used him that might cost him a LOT OF MONEY?
Jacket Man
February 26th, 2012
3:18 pm
Why are any of you engaging with “WnE”? All you are doing is giving him/her an opportunity to argue back with you. Ignore him/her and let us get back to business.
S Hill Supporter
February 26th, 2012
3:29 pm
Voted StephenHill has thus far been the best OVERALL player in the 2012 NFLCOMBINE looking 1st round
@s. hill supporter
February 26th, 2012
3:40 pm
Unless 7 wr are taken in 1st rd , hill isn’t in 1st round. Blackmon, adams, benjamin, streeter, wright martin, wylie all much closer to being NFL ready than Hill, S. Hill is still a project and 1st round money isn’t going to be spent on a project.His inexperience at the position is going to hurt him. Over 50% of his yardage came against W Carolina, Middle Tenn, and UNC.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
3:45 pm
re:
Unless 7 wr are taken in 1st rd , hill isn’t in 1st round. Blackmon, adams, benjamin, streeter, wright martin, wylie all much closer to being NFL ready than Hill, S. Hill is still a project and 1st round money isn’t going to be spent on a project.His inexperience at the position is going to hurt him. Over 50% of his yardage came against W Carolina, Middle Tenn, and UNC.
______________
Good insight.
And I blame CPJ for what you wrote above, his crappy offense and his inability to Recruit decent QBs and use guys like Hill the right way have cost this young man a LOT of money.
There still is a chance he can go late 1st round, but he’ll definitely go in the 2nd round.
If only CPJ and his staff had developed him properly, then maybe he’d be getting an extra $10 million in signing bonus money (1st round), but then again CPJ loves his Triple-SLOPtion offense too much to do what right based on his team’s personnel.
Cale
February 26th, 2012
4:00 pm
Hey WnE – Hill and his father knew they were going to an option offense team when Johnson recruited them. Johnson’s offense has and will always be the option. If they were expecting anything else then it’s their own fault. You can call the option offense gimmicky all you want but Georgia Tech would have won half as many games without it the last 5 years. Also, just beacuse Hill can run a 4.3 40 doesn’t mean he’s a great receiver. He’s average at best and would have dropped even more passes in a traditional offense.
S Hill Supporter
February 26th, 2012
4:29 pm
I never said he was going 1st round the commentators did….IDGAF what you haters has to say about STEPHEN HILL hes still A top notch Athlete that the boosters couldn’t buy……now hate on haters hate on……
S Hill Supporter
February 26th, 2012
4:34 pm
@_StephenHill_ has a vertical of 39.5, placed first in the broad jump (11.1ft), and has the top 40 yard-dash time of 4.36 sec… #MGHSPROUD
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
4:36 pm
I love it. WnE doesn’t even know what he is arguing anymore. Stephen Hill has his head spinning. WnE actually said that “a 4.38 40 and 235 lbs will get you drafted out of any system.” What a great quote. I think WnE is going to be surprised by the number of WR GT send to the NFL over the next few years. Those are the kind of guys we are recruiting. Big guys with some speed. Maybe not 4.38 speed. But obviously surprising speed (see Stephen Hill 40 time… bet no one was predicting that.) for their size. Jeff Greene and Darren Waller are going to be STUDS for GT.
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
4:39 pm
Stephen Hill WILL be drafted in the top 5 of WRs (either RD 1 or RD 2). All you got to do is look at the WRs in this class. A ton of flaws. SHill just covered a few of his flaws by running and jumping OUT OF THE BUILDING in Indianapolis. That’s going to get him drafted above a bunch of these “polished” WR you guys are talking about.
Ted M
February 26th, 2012
4:52 pm
I’m rooting for him he’s a Tech guy…but so what he can’t catch the ball at all.
@cole
February 26th, 2012
4:56 pm
Cale, where do you get they would’ve won more games with the option. 1st they would’ve had better talent without Pj. Lets not forget Renfree was a tech commit before Gailey was fired and S Threat transfered If it hadn’t been for Gaileys class of 2007.PJ would be in a world of hurt.What great backs has PJ recruited? what great anything has he recruited?He runs a service academy offense , there is a reason teams don’t run it, and the main reason the teams that do use it , the service academy is recruiting. In the service academy it’s understandable , but tech can attract better quality talent or could be pj. PJ will go down as the worst hire in Tech history. another blow out loss to Georgia is forthcoming and the schedule although not difficult is a little stronger than last years.Lasst year 5 of the 8 wins were against teams that only won ten games total between them and finished last in their conferences or divisions.It will take the next tech football coach years of recruiting to clean up Pj recruiting for his scheme, which basically means the more elite players look elsewhere so they can play in offenses that may give them a chance on the next level.Hill should’ve stayed with his orginal commit to UCF or taken UNCs offer or jumped all over UGA very late interest when Marlon Brown was wavering.He would’ve received much better coaching, been exposed to better surrounding talent and gained experience that PJ offense doesn’t provide.No one know what Pj told him while recruiting, Everyones been hearing since Pj arrived that he was going to “open” things up and throw more ,”look what he did at Hawaii one season” (where he was a coordinator in the WAC which is the highest level on his coaching resume prior to GT) is the usual rationale among tech fans.
NFL COMBINE: Tech’s Stephen Hill runs 40 in 4.3 seconds | football-feed.com
February 26th, 2012
4:56 pm
[...] to Original Content From Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog): read more Related Articles Share About Author [...]
c-smoov
February 26th, 2012
4:58 pm
I may be wrong but…………… None of you are NFL Scouts, coaches, GM’s are anyone who’s opinions matter in the NFL or College Football!!!! Quite a few of them spoke today and all feel GT did not take advantage of Stephen’s talents> But, that’s old news! We all know that!He’s moving on to the next level! Enough said!!!!!!!!
Glad for him
February 26th, 2012
4:58 pm
Had a feeling he would do well and get drafted no doubt about it. He made the best choice, as he decided himself. And I do agree that CPJ did not take advantage of Hill as he should.
Also it is CPJs fault that he doesnt have a quarterback who would miss the ocean if he fell out of a boat. it is his job to find and recruit a QB that can actually throw the ball.
Glad for him
February 26th, 2012
5:00 pm
Does*** typo, my.
Ted M
February 26th, 2012
5:02 pm
Enter your comments here
WnE is an idiot
February 26th, 2012
5:04 pm
WnE…what about Marlon Brown…5 star (sic) recruit with the same measurables as Hill, who signed with UGay about the same time as Hill. He has done absolutely NOTHING in Coach Spraytan’s system. Think HIS parents might regret where he signed?? You sir, are an absolute moron. After years of harping that CPJ couldn’t recruit, you now are beside yourself that one of his recruits might go in the first round
Paddy
February 26th, 2012
5:09 pm
If Vad Lee or another accomplished passer is not the starter at Tech this year, recruiting just got real tough for CPJ at the receiver position. We saw what Washington could do, he was ok. He will not lead Tech to a ACC championship imho. A Tracy Ham lookalike is the answer for CPJ and his system.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
5:13 pm
re:
Stephen Hill WILL be drafted in the top 5 of WRs (either RD 1 or RD 2). All you got to do is look at the WRs in this class. A ton of flaws. SHill just covered a few of his flaws by running and jumping OUT OF THE BUILDING in Indianapolis. That’s going to get him drafted above a bunch of these “polished” WR you guys are talking about.
_________________
I’ve always said that elite athleticism & measurables will give a lot of HCs a reason to like you especially at the NFL level.
My head isn’t spinning at all, because my message has always been pretty consistent.
Thomas
February 26th, 2012
5:15 pm
Why can’t Johnson modify to allow, at least some times, for the spread. My son asked me to go to the Spring game last year- “son, love you, but can’t watch two teams running that offense”
Paddy
February 26th, 2012
5:16 pm
After reading one comment, I may be way behind the times. Is Vlad Lee not on the GT team????
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
5:19 pm
WnE, your whole argument against the GT offense has been based on the fact that we can’t recruit NFL caliber players, and we can’t get guys ready for the NFL using this offense. SHill blows both arguments out of the water.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
5:20 pm
re:
WnE…what about Marlon Brown…5 star (sic) recruit with the same measurables as Hill, who signed with UGay about the same time as Hill. He has done absolutely NOTHING in Coach Spraytan’s system. Think HIS parents might regret where he signed?? You sir, are an absolute moron. After years of harping that CPJ couldn’t recruit, you now are beside yourself that one of his recruits might go in the first round
____________________
I’m amazed at how DUMB and non-knowing the GT fanbase is about CFB!
Marlon Brown was NEVER a 25 ft long jumper out of HS and was never a 41 in vertical leap guy (Hill has lost 1.5 inches since he has put on 20+ pounds after HS).
BTW, Coach Spray Tan Recruited S. Hill BEFORE he Recruited Marlon Brown, after Hill turned down UGA CMR then went and got M. Brown so even though Brown was 5* & Hill was 4* CMR would have rather had the ELITE ATHLETICISM.
You GT putzes should follow Recruiting more closely before you try and catch me in a faux pas.
Basically NO Marlon Brown doesn’t have the same measurables as S. Hill.
BTW CMR made Kris Durham a 4th round draft pick and Mo Massaquoi a 2nd round draft pick when NO ONE thought either one has ANY CHANCE at the NFL other than Free Agency.
So in summary Hill and his Father “know” deep down inside had they signed with UGA they’d be a top-10 pick with about $10 million more in signing Bonus Money!
WnE
February 26th, 2012
5:24 pm
re:
WnE, your whole argument against the GT offense has been based on the fact that we can’t recruit NFL caliber players, and we can’t get guys ready for the NFL using this offense. SHill blows both arguments out of the water.
_________________
The OFFENSE didn’t get him ready!
Genetics & his Track Background from HS got him ready for the NFL Draft!
CPJ didn’t coach Bay-Bay to be 6-3 235lbs. and run a 4.38 forty.
CPJ didn’t coach Hill to be 6-4 215lbs. and run a 4.36 forty.
Had both guys played in a BETTER OFFENSE then they would have both been drafted higher and gotten BIGGER signing bonuses!
WnE
February 26th, 2012
5:31 pm
re:
I may be wrong but…………… None of you are NFL Scouts, coaches, GM’s are anyone who’s opinions matter in the NFL or College Football!!!! Quite a few of them spoke today and all feel GT did not take advantage of Stephen’s talents> But, that’s old news! We all know that!He’s moving on to the next level! Enough said!!!!!!!!
_____________
Great Post!
So the EXPERTS, i.e. NFL Scouts & GMs agree with ME, but the GT fanbase supports & agrees with CPJ and his boot-licking-toadies.
That’s to be expected, the GT fanbase is real defensive and territorial when it comes to CPJ, and time someone questions anything he does, they go crazy defending him, no matter how obvious it is that he is WRONG.
Great post once again!
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
5:31 pm
WnE, I KNEW you’d try to pull this crap. Make up some facts to fit your narrative. Unreal… YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHILL GETS DRAFTED IN A DIFFERENT OFFENSE!!! SHill never would have led the nation in ypc in a different offense. As pointed out above, other guys with similar measurables out of HS didn’t end up where SHill is today. You can choose to ignore the FACTS and make up your own all you want, but it doesn’t change the truth.
Delbert D.
February 26th, 2012
5:39 pm
If Robert Griffin III had only signed with Georgia…
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
5:40 pm
by the way, the story that WnE told about Marlon Brown and Stephen Hill above…. TOTALLY MADE UP. Its not true. UGA offered Marlon Brown first. You sir, are a liar.
WnE
February 26th, 2012
5:42 pm
re:
WnE, I KNEW you’d try to pull this crap. Make up some facts to fit your narrative. Unreal… YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHILL GETS DRAFTED IN A DIFFERENT OFFENSE!!! SHill never would have led the nation in ypc in a different offense. As pointed out above, other guys with similar measurables out of HS didn’t end up where SHill is today. You can choose to ignore the FACTS and make up your own all you want, but it doesn’t change the truth.
_________________
A.J. Green had lesser speed and leaping ability coming out of UGA and got drafted #4 overall, Julio Jones had the same speed & size and got drafted #6 overall.
IF Hill goes early 2nd round or late 1st round and gets $10 million less in signing bonus than those 2 guys that are the SAME SIZE as he is and very comparable overall then he & his father will be PI$$ED at CPJ and his gimmicky Offense.
wardo
February 26th, 2012
5:42 pm
As a former college WR I would like to mention that there are a few more facets to the game than just running 40 yards. Can he learn a pro style offense? Can he run a professional route (doubtful)? Can he catch the football (this is proven that he can’t)? Can he or is he willing to play special teams (gotta have heart and toughness)?
If the game was as simple as running a great 40 yard time then Carl Lewis would be an NFL Hall of Famer. Shut up already. If he could play, we would know it. He had plenty of opportunities to show his worth in his 3 years at Tech. In those 3 years he had more faked injuries than catches. Do you think that the NFL was not watching these childish antics? I promise you that they were.
Call me in 3 years and let’s discuss how successful Mr. Hill is as an NFL player.
GTBob
February 26th, 2012
5:54 pm
where do your numbers come from?
I wasn’t comparing Hill to Julio Jones or the LSU receivers, I was comparing Bay Bay to them.
GTBob
February 26th, 2012
5:58 pm
If you believe WnE then Stephen Hill was the best WR of all time coming out of high school and if he went somewhere else he would have been better then Justin Blackmon. Never mind what Hill actually did on the field.
GTfan2012
February 26th, 2012
5:58 pm
WnE,
Julio Jones and AJ Green might be the #2 and #3 WRs to come out of college in the last five years (behind Calvin Johnson, of course) and are at least both in the top 5. No one should be comparing SHill to those guys. But I think its obvious that Hill has big play ability. That’s what he showed at GT, that’s what he’ll get drafted on, that’s what he’ll show in the NFL. What level he reaches with that ability in the NFL remains to be seen. Randy Moss was able to make a pretty good career as that type of WR.
But SHill does have flaws that have nothing to do with the offense he ran. He is not entirely natural catching the ball. He plays like a track star, rather than a football player. Again, you can make up facts that say he would be drafted higher coming from a different offense. That doesn’t mean its true.
patience
February 26th, 2012
5:59 pm
WnE I can’t agree with you that if Stephen Hill had gone to UGA that is draft stock would be higher. AJ Green was a special type of talent coming out of high school. That’s not to say that SH5 was good in his own right, but not on the level of AJ. AJ Green would have been special where ever he went. Tavarres King was a much higher rate receiver coming out of high school than Stephen Hill was and what has playing for UGA gotten him?
Rick
February 26th, 2012
6:05 pm
If we have another year with tevin at qb, i won’t bother watching any games. did he even improve over 2010? i don’t think so. he’s reached his limit. time to let a running and passing qb like vad take over.