Raymond Millous Hill (August 7, 1975 – August 6, 2015) was a college and professional

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 ...

player. He was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, and played four seasons in 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), splitting three seasons between the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as a

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 ...

in 2001, and was part of their

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

championship season. He suffered a leg injury during the 2001 preseason, and was placed on injured reserve for the entire season. His younger brother

Renaldo Hill Renaldo Hill (born November 12, 1978) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the ...

, also played in the NFL.

Early years

Hill attended

Chadsey High School Chadsey Senior High School was a public secondary school in Detroit, Michigan. History Chadsey Senior High School was named in honor of Charles E. Chadsey - Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools, 1912–1919; Chadsey High was constructed ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, where he was a three-year starter at

College career

Hill was a three-year starter (1995–1997) for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

under head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

. Hill finished his Spartan career with 115 solo tackles, six interceptions, and four forced fumbles. A second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection in 1997, Hill recorded 68 tackles (two for losses, including a sack), intercepted four passes, and led the team in fumbles caused with three. Hill set a Spartan single-season record for most passes broken up in a season with 16.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Hill originally signed with the

as an undrafted rookie free agent on April 24, 1998. Hill saw action in four games, all as a reserve, where he totaled three special teams tackles.

Miami Dolphins

Hill was awarded to

off waivers from the Buffalo Bills on November 19, 1998. Hill played in two regular season games and the first two postseason games of his career with the Dolphins. In 1999, Hill appeared in all 16 regular season games. Recording one tackle and a pass defense on defense. Hill finished sixth on the team with 14 tackles on special teams, where he also forced a fumble. Hill appeared in both playoff games following the 1999 season in a reserve role. Hill re-signed with the Dolphins as an exclusive rights free agent on May 5, 2000. During the 2000 season, Hill recorded seven special teams tackles (five solo and two assists), and one pass defensed, before being released by the Dolphins on October 25, 2000.

Buffalo Bills

On December 12, 2000, Hill returned to the Buffalo Bills as a free agent and saw action on special teams during the final five weeks of the season, recording four special teams tackles. After being granted free agency on March 1, 2001, Hill re-signed with the Bills and was waived on June 1, 2001.

New England Patriots

On June 11, 2001, Hill was claimed off waivers by the

from the Bills. Hill suffered a leg injury on August 18, 2001, during a preseason game against 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 ...

. On August 28, 2001, Hill was placed on injured reserve.

Personal life

Ray Hill resided in

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb of Dallas. According to the 2020 U.S. census its population was 104,627, up from 84,246 in 2010. Allen is located approximately twenty miles (32.2 km) north ...

as a Juvenile Case Manager until his death in 2015.

Death

Hill died on August 6, 2015, one day before his 40th birthday, after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2015/08/07/michigan-state-football-ray-hill/31298703/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Ray 1975 births 2015 deaths American football defensive backs Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players Michigan State Spartans football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Detroit Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from colorectal cancer People from Allen, Texas