Dontrell Donmond Hilliard (born February 26, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interc ...

and signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in 2018.

Early life

Hilliard attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Scotlandville Magnet High School. He received offers from

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

before committing to the Green Wave.

College career

While at

, Hilliard rushed for 2,948 yards and 30

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and caught 70 passes for 740 yards and four touchdowns over the course of four seasons (47 games). As a senior, Hilliard was third in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) with 1,091 rushing yards and rushed for 12 touchdowns and was named second-team All-AAC.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

2018 season

Hilliard signed with the

as an

on May 4, 2018. He was signed to the Browns

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 2, 2018, after not making the 53-man roster out of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. Hilliard was promoted to the Browns' active roster on October 9, 2018. He made his NFL debut on October 14 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, returning one kick for 31 yards and recording a tackle on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Hilliard finished his rookie year with nine receptions for 105 yards to go along with 11 kicks for 264 yards (24.0 average) and three special teams tackles in 11 games and no starts.

2019 season

During the season-opening 43–13 loss to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Hilliard scored his first touchdown on a four-yard run, the first carry of his NFL career. Hilliard was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 24, 2019. Hilliard finished his second professional season with 13 carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 12 receptions for 92 yards and led the team with 421 kickoff return yards and 107 punt return yards in 14 games and no starts.

2020 season

Hilliard was tendered by the Browns for the 2020 season. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list on July 26, 2020, and activated from the list nine days later. Hilliard was waived on September 5, 2020. The Browns re-signed him to their practice squad the next day. Hilliard was promoted to the active roster on September 30, 2020. He was waived by the team on December 13, 2020.

Houston Texans

On December 15, 2020, Hilliard was claimed off waivers by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He signed a contract extension with the team on March 1, 2021, which was reported by

Ian Rapoport Ian Rapoport (born January 9, 1980) is an American sportswriter, pundit, and television analyst who primarily covers the National Football League (NFL). Early life Rappaport was born in Boston and grew up in Chappaqua, New York. He was a colleg ...

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as a one-year, $1.25 million extension. On August 16, 2021, HIlliard was waived with an injury designation by the Texans and placed on injured reserve. He was released on August 19.

Tennessee Titans

2021 season

On October 27, 2021, Hilliard was signed to the Titans practice squad. After being elevated to the active roster, he rushed for 35 yards on seven carries, caught eight passes for 47 yards, and returned three kickoffs for 65 yards in a Week 11 22–13 loss to the Texans. After the game, Hilliard was reverted back to the practice squad. On November 23, 2021, the Titans signed Hilliard to the active roster. During a 36–13 Week 12 road loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, Hilliard had 12 carries for 131 yards and a 68-yard touchdown. Both he and fellow running back

D'Onta Foreman D'Onta Foreman ( ; born April 24, 1996) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, and was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played ...

rushed for over 100 yards in that game, the first time the Titans had two 100-yard rushers in a game since Chris Johnson and

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the ...

in 2008. Hilliard finished the 2021 season with 56 carries for 350 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 19 receptions for 87 yards and eight returns for 177 yards in eight games and five starts.

2022 season

On March 19, 2022, Hilliard re-signed with the Titans. He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2022, following an in-game neck injury. He finished the 2022 season with 22 carries for 145 yards to go along with 21 receptions for 177 yards and four touchdowns, and three returns for 27 yards in 12 games and one start. He was not resigned by the Titans during the 2023 off-season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Tulane Green Wave bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilliard, Dontrell 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana American football running backs Tulane Green Wave football players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Tennessee Titans players