Joseph Hills (born October 2, 1987) 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 ...

wide receiver who is currently a free agent. 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 ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

from 2007 to 2008 before transferring to

Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

Early life

Hills attended Palmetto High School in

Palmetto, Florida Palmetto is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was listed as 13,323. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Palmetto ha ...

. There, he was a standout member of the football team being ranked as the No. 27 recruit at the wide receiver position. Hills committed to the University of South Carolina on November 17, 2006. Hills chose South Carolina over football scholarships from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, Ole Miss, &

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

College career

Hills played two seasons for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

of the University of South Carolina. He played in 13 games, starting 3 games, for the Gamecocks, recording 11 receptions for 87 yards and one touchdown. After the 2008 season, Hills transferred to

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

. He played in 11 games, starting 9, in 2009, catching 39 passes for 528 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in 11 games, all starts, his senior year in 2010, catching 40 passes for 462 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Professional career

Hills was rated the 64th best wide receiver in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Tennessee Titans

After failing to be drafted in the

, Hills was invited to training camp by 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 ...

. Hills suffered an ankle injury during camp, ruining his chances at making the final roster. He was cut on September 4, 2011.

Spokane Shock

Hills signed with the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) before the 2012 season.

Tampa Bay Storm

Hills finished the 2012 season with the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

. Hills had a big season for the Storm in 2013, earning 1st Team All-Arena honors, finishing in the top 7 of the league in receptions (133), receiving yards (1,861) and receiving touchdowns (42). Hills attended rookie

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in May 2013.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hills was signed to the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

' practice roster on August 12, 2014. He was released by the Tiger-Cats on August 29, 2014.

Pittsburgh Power

On September 25, 2014, Hills was assigned to the

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

. The Power folded in November 2014, making Hills a free agent. Joe Hills

Jacksonville Sharks

On December 30, 2014, Hills was assigned to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

. Hills had a terrific season with the Sharks, breaking

Jeron Harvey Jeron E. Harvey (born June 25, 1984) is an arena football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Houston Cougars football, Houston. Harvey ha ...

's team record for receptions. Hills was named a Second-team All-Arena selection in 2015. On October 21, 2015, Hills was assigned to the Sharks for the 2016 season. Hills went on to have another spectacular year for the Sharks in 2016 raking in 2,020 reception yards and 50+ touchdowns earning himself receiver of the year honors. Hills won the 2016

Arena Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award The Arena Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Arena Football League (AFL) to the offensive player of the AFL believed to have had the most outstanding season. Multiple-award winners include Eddie Brown, Aa ...

. He was also named the Cutters Receiver of the Year.

Dalian Dragon Kings

In 2016, Hills was the first American selected (second overall pick) in the 2016 draft of the

China Arena Football League The China Arena Football League (), often abbreviated as the CAFL, was a professional arena football league that played its games in the China, People's Republic of China. It featured players from the now-defunct Arena Football League (AFL) and ...

being selected by the

Dalian Dragon Kings The Shenyang Rhinos are a professional arena football team based in Shenyang, Liaoning participating as members of the China Arena Football League (CAFL). They were originally called the Dalian Dragon Kings and were based in Dalian, China. Their h ...

. However, he did not play for the team.

Tampa Bay Storm

Hills was assigned to the

on January 9, 2017. He was placed on league suspension on June 27, 2017. He was named the AFL Wide Receiver of the Year in 2017. He also earned First-team All-Arena honors. The Storm folded in December 2017.

Jacksonville Sharks

Hills signed with the Jacksonville Sharks of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

on June 22, 2017. He played in one game for the Sharks and then returned to the Storm.

Florida Tarpons

Hills signed with the

Florida Tarpons The Florida Tarpons were a professional indoor football team based in Lakeland, Florida, out of the RP Funding Center. Originally established in Estero, Florida, and playing out of Germain Arena, they began play in 2012 as an expansion team of th ...

of the

American Arena League The American Arena League (AAL) is a professional indoor football minor league that began playing in 2018. The league was initiated by a merger between Arena Pro Football (APF) and the Can-Am Indoor Football League (Can-Am), although the AAL o ...

on January 12, 2018.

Albany Empire

Hills was assigned to the Albany Empire of the

(AFL) on April 20, 2018.

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

References

External links

Spokane Shock bioTennessee State Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Joe 1987 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football South Carolina Gamecocks football players Tennessee State Tigers football players Tennessee Titans players Spokane Shock players Tampa Bay Storm players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Pittsburgh Power players Dalian Dragon Kings players Jacksonville Sharks players Florida Tarpons players Albany Empire (AFL) players Players of American football from Florida People from Palmetto, Florida