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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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)#Offen ...

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 position ...

for 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

and signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in 2018.

Early years

Hilliard attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Scotlandville Magnet High School Scotlandville Magnet High School (SMHS) is a public high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. Scotlandville High is part of the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools. The school serves the Scotlandville neighborhood of Baton Rouge ...

. He received offers from

and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

before committing to the Green Wave.

College career

While at

, Hilliard rushed for 2,948 yards and 30 touchdowns 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 (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

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

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Hilliard signed with the

as an

on May 4, 2018. Hilliard was signed to the Browns practice squad on September 2, 2018, after not making the 53-man roster out of training camp. Hilliard was promoted to the Browns' active roster on October 9, 2018. Hilliard 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 Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, returning one kick for 31 yards and recording a tackle on special teams. In his rookie season, Hilliard caught nine passes for 105 yards and returned 11 kicks for 264 yards (24.0 average), as well as making three tackles on special teams, in 11 games played. During the 2019 season-opening 43-13 loss to the

, Hilliard scored his first touchdown on a four-yard run, the first carry of his professional career. He was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2019. He recorded 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. 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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list on July 26, 2020, and activated from the list nine days later. He was waived on September 5, 2020. The Browns re-signed Hilliard to their practice squad on September 6, 2020. He was promoted to the active roster on September 30, 2020. Hilliard was waived by the Browns 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 (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

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

Ian Rapoport Ian Rapoport is an American sportswriter, pundit, and television analyst who primarily covers the National Football League (NFL). Career Rapoport started his career for the '' Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' in 2004 covering the Mississippi State Bulld ...

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...

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

Tennessee Titans

On October 27, 2021, Hilliard was signed to the

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 against the

in Week 11. After the game, he reverted back to practice squad. On November 23, 2021, the Titans signed Hilliard to the active roster. In a 36-13 Week 12 loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Hilliard rushed 12 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. Both Hilliard and fellow running back

D'Onta Foreman D'Onta Foreman (born April 24, 1996) is an American football running back for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2017 ...

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

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Den ...

in 2008. Overall, Hilliard finished the 2021 season with 56 carries for 350 rushing yard and two touchdowns in eight games. On March 19, 2022, Hilliard re-signed with the Titans. He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bioTulane 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 Tennessee Titans players