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Houston Texans rookie linebacker Jamal Hill is a testament to the power of dedication and hard work. His transition from safety to linebacker for the Oregon Ducks, a position he played with an aggressive style, caught the attention of the Texans. They saw his potential and selected him with the No. 188 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Yet, before being observed by NFL scouts, Hill made his way up and down the sidelines of his Pop Warner football team as a running back in Georgia. Running right along with him as if she were his lead blocker was the biggest supporter he has to this day, his mother, Tammie Hill.
“My family means everything to me,” Hill responded when asked how important his family has been in this process during the draft. “They are all here with me. It has been a long day and process. I am excited, just giving them something to be proud of. It means everything to me.”
That is why, when Hill first decided to play football in Oregon after graduating from Morrow High School, he found the transition difficult at first.
At the age of five, he lost his father, a retired Army veteran who also served as a drill sergeant during his active-duty days. His mother was the person he leaned on the most when times were difficult. Her physical presence calmed him down when he was anxious about decisions he needed to make.
Eventually, everything worked out, and Hill adjusted to his new surroundings by giving everything he had on and off the field. Even with his busy schedule, he always made sure to communicate daily with his mother.
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| Rookie Linebacker Jamal Hill Poses With His Mother Tammie After Being Drafted By The Houston Texans |
After four years at Oregon, Hill, 23, would make another life-changing transition when he switched from safety to linebacker in his final season for the Ducks. He played in all 14 games as a senior and finished the year with 31 tackles, including five tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
“I wanted to play linebacker,” Hill said about his transition. They (the defensive coaches) sold me on the vision, how the game is changing, and how I can help my team and NFL teams in the future.
“The best parts of my game are running and tackling, and those are some of the characteristics that you find in the best linebackers. My ability to cover tight ends, running backs, and slot receivers in certain formations were the main factors that went into the change.”
As a member of the Texans, Hill will have an opportunity to continue to improve at the linebacker position as he learns from a former player who was very good during his playing days at the position in head coach DeMeco Ryans.
Living on the West Coast, Hill was familiar with Ryans and his defensive coaching style from Ryans’s days as a defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. Still, his desire to play for Ryans grew when he watched the Texans make a run in the 2023 NFL Playoffs.
“Watching the playoff games and watching the passion he coaches with and him being a former player and just hearing the stories about him being a player’s coach,” Hill told the media when asked about playing for Ryans. “From the time he was in San Francisco, being a coordinator, I wouldn’t want to be coached by anybody else.
As Hill ventures into the next phase of his football career, he has his mother’s support, the love from his former teammates at Oregon, and a mantra he says to himself when he steps on the field that was taught to him by his former high school coach Jerome Weaks.
“Be Legendary”
“Work for everything you got,” Hill responded when asked about the mantra. “I didn’t go to the best high school, so if you are just trying to be legendary in everything you try to do, you will accomplish your goals. Even when people try to shut doors in your face, as long as you carry that mindset of, I am about to be the best I can be at whatever it is, you will accomplish your goals.”