Gregory LaMonte Hill (born February 23, 1972) is an American former professional

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player who was a

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in the

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(NFL) from 1994 to 1999.

High school

Hill attended David W. Carter High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, where he was a highly recruited running back and was named to all-district, all-Texas, and

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

teams after

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

for 1,122 yards and 14

touchdown 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 ...

s as a senior in 1989. He had transferred from Bishop Dunne Catholic School prior to his senior year.

College

He starred collegiately at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, where in 1991 he made an immediate impact in the first game of his freshman year by rushing for 212 yards (which is still an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

freshman debut record) in a 45-7 Aggie thrashing of

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. He would go on to set the A&M freshman rushing record that year at 1,216 yards. His best season came during his sophomore season in 1992, when ''

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'' named him a second-team All-American running back after he rushed for 1,339 yards (3rd all-time for a single season at Texas A&M) and became the fastest running back in

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

history to reach 2,000 career yards. In 1993, he set a record for longest run by an Aggie with a 94-yard scamper against

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

(later broken by D'Andre "Tiki" Hardeman). He finished his A&M career with 3,262 rushing yards - 3rd all-time for the Aggies, and added 33 touchdowns (5th all-time). The only blemish on his career at Texas A&M was his involvement in a scandal in which 9 players received money from a

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for work that they did not perform. This led to an NCAA investigation that resulted in Texas A&M being put on probation and being banned from television appearances and postseason competition during the 1994 season. The timing of this penalty was particularly painful for Aggie football, as the team was unbeaten that season, yet unable to participate in a

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

. Many Aggie fans felt jilted, as Hill declared early for the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

just days after the NCAA sanctions were announced.

NFL

Hill was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the first round (25th overall) of the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

, the third Texas A&M player chosen in the first round that year behind

Sam Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolu ...

and

Aaron Glenn Aaron Devone Glenn (born July 16, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former cornerback who is the head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the ...

. Once again he made an immediate impact in his first season playing well as a backup to legend

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

, picking up 574 yards rushing and averaging 4.1 per

carry Carry or carrying may refer to: People *Carry (name) Finance * Carried interest (or carry), the share of profits in an investment fund paid to the fund manager * Carry (investment), a financial term: the carry of an asset is the gain or cost of ...

. He appeared in all 16 games and making one

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. He had the third-most rushing yards among all AFC

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

s and was the Chiefs leading rusher in five games. The following season, he moved into a platoon role with Allen, appearing in all 16 contests and again making one start. He had the first 100-yard game of his career with 109 yards on 15 carries (7.3-yard avg.) in the season opener on September 3 vs.

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. Allen and Hill formed a formidable tandem, combining for 1,557 yards (667 of those gained by Hill). The Chiefs had an impressive year, finishing 13–3, but lost to an underdog

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

team in their first playoff game. The Allen-Hill platoon continued in the 1996 season, in which the Chiefs were picked by many to win the AFC. Although Hill played well, rushing for 645 yards on a 4.8 average, the Chiefs were disappointing, going 9-7 and narrowly missing the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Hill and Allen switched roles in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

with Hill becoming the starter and the veteran Allen spelling him in relief. Although Hill started every game for the Chiefs that year, it was a disappointing season for him as he finished with only 550 yards with a subpar 3.5 average per carry. Hill was granted

free agency 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 ...

after the 1997 season and signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

. Hill once again made a quick start in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, leading the league in rushing and scoring with 240 yards and 4 touchdowns on a 6.0 average through the first two games of the season. Unfortunately, he broke his leg during the third game and never saw the field again for St. Louis. Hill fell to second-string when the Rams acquired

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons and is the current running backs coach at the Colorado ...

, the best all-purpose back in the NFL during that era, two days before the

. The unexpected retirement of

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushin ...

two days before the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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opened left the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

thin at running back, so they acquired Hill from St. Louis in exchange for two draft picks to help fill that void. Hill started eight games in 1999 and rushed for 542 yards and two touchdowns. He was released by the Lions after that season. Hill spent the 2000 season out of football and although there were rumors that

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...

(who coached Hill in Kansas City) and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

would pick Hill up for the 2001 season, it was not to be. Hill never returned to the NFL. In six career seasons in the NFL, Hill rushed for 3,218 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hill was an on-air talent with Kevin Scott on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan until June 22, 2009.

NFL statistics

Rushing Stats Receiving Stats

References

External links

12th Man articleTexas A&M recordsTexas A&M probation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Greg 1972 births Living people American football running backs Texas A&M Aggies football players Kansas City Chiefs players St. Louis Rams players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Dallas