Jordan Hill (American football)

Jordan Thomas Hill (born February 8, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

Early years

Hill was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Steelton Highspire High School in suburban Harrisburg, and played high school football for the Steelton-Highspire Steamrollers. After a senior season during which he earned all-state accolades while helping the Steamrollers win a Class A state championship, Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson recruited Hill heavily. Although he had offers from Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Temple, Hill quickly committed to Penn State.

Recruiting

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Jordan Hill DL	Steelton, PA	Steelton-Highspire HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	4.7	Jan 5, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 49 (DT), 11 (school)   Rivals: 39 (PA), 24 (school)  247Sports: 58 (strongside DE), 25 (PA), 987 (national), 15 (school)
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

College career

Hill enrolled in Pennsylvania State University, where he played for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2009 to 2012. He played relatively sparingly in his freshman season, but did record 12 tackles in 8 games, and started four games and played in all 11 during his sophomore year.

As a junior in 2011, Hill led the defensive line by recording 59 tackles including 8 for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Perhaps his best game of the year was against Illinois when he recorded 10 tackles including a tackle for a loss. He earned honorable mention all Big Ten.

In wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Hill was one of the first Penn State players to come out in support of coach Joe Paterno. "I'm still a big supporter of coach Paterno and he is one of the reasons that I'm here," he said. "All you can really say is no man is perfect at all."

After Penn State's first loss to Ohio University in 2012, senior Hill came out and said that the team needed to move forward. Mid-way through the season, coach Bill O'Brien stumped for Hill and teammates Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti for several year end awards or for the All-American team.

Professional career

The Seattle Seahawks chose Hill in the third round, with the 87th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL Draft. On May 10, 2013, he signed a multi-year rookie contract with Seahawks; financial terms were not disclosed at the time of the announcement. He played in 4 games in the 2013 season, recording 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks, ultimately winning a super bowl ring in Super Bowl XLVIII.

In 2014, Hill was a small contributor until Defensive Tackle Brandon Mebane was placed on injured reserve after a week 10 game against the New York Giants. Over the final 6 games of the regular season (all wins by the Seahawks, with a total of 39 points allowed), Hill recorded 13 tackles and 5.5 sacks. In a week 15 game against the San Francisco 49ers, he had two sacks of QB Colin Kaepernick. In week 17, he had half a sack and his first career interception of QB Shaun Hill. In this week 17 game, Hill would get injured and ultimately be placed on injured reserve, ending his season as the playoffs started.

Personal

Hill is the son of Larry and Sue (Dagenhart) Hill. Hill has said that he draws motivation from his father Larry, who has diabetes and suffered from a mild stroke four years ago.

External links

• Seattle Seahawks bio
• Penn State Nittany Lions bio