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The Mississippi State football team begins the 2019 season in just over a week, as the Bulldogs take on Louisiana in eight days in New Orleans at The Superdome. Today’s spotlighted player is No. 8, Kylin Hill.
Hill, hailing from Columbus, Mississippi, was one of the best running backs in the nation coming out of high school. He was rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports and ESPN. He also ranked as the No. 6 running back in the nation by 247Sports and No. 11 by Scout.com. Hill was considered as the No. 2 overall player in the state of Mississippi and the No. 106 overall player by Scout.com and No. 124 overall by 247Sports.
Heading into his senior season at Columbus High School, Hill was named to the Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen. He rushed for 1,750 yards and 27 touchdowns. He was also used as a slot receiver and hauled in 278 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Hill was a first team all-state recipient and was named Columbus-Dispatch’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second time. He was also named Mississippi MVP in the 2016 Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game after rushing for 91 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.
As a junior, Hill turned in the second-best rushing performance in school history after compiling 1,801 yards on the ground. He was named Columbus-Dispatch’s Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
Hill first committed to Mississippi State on May 18, 2016. He stuck with the Bulldogs though his senior season and signed with MSU on Feb. 1, 2017. He was also considering Nebraska.
He then played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2017. He rushed for 393 yards on 78 carries with two touchdowns and ranked eighth in the SEC among freshmen in rushing.
Hill earned the starting job last year as a sophomore. He started all 11 games that he played in and compiled 734 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 117 carries. He also had 176 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. He opened up last year’s season with a quick pass from Keytaon Thompson that he took to the house for 53 yards on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage to open the season against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1, 2018. The injury bug sidelined him for home games against No. 16 Texas A&M and Arkansas.
Heading into the 2019 season, Hill is poised for a big junior season, and the nation is taking notice as he made the watch lists for the Doak Walker and Maxwell Awards. Hill provides the power, speed and elusiveness needed to be an elite running back. The entire nation should be taking notice of Hill this season.