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The Cinderella story that is Mike Hilton continues for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Spike

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He looked good




The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up a defensive back named Mike Hilton in the offseason, but no one saw this coming.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Senquez Golson in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft with hopes of him being a versatile slot cornerback who can play both the pass and run with equal efficiency.

At that time, Golson’s Ole Miss teammate, Mike Hilton, was preparing for his final year with the Rebels. In 2016, Hilton was an undrafted free agent pick up by the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was cut by the team before the start of the regular season. As a free agent, Hilton then signed with the New England Patriots to be a member of their practice squad, only to be released in September of 2016.

In December of last year, the Steelers came calling and signed him to their practice squad, and an eventual reserve/future contract followed.

Now, back to Golson. During Hilton’s bouncing around the NFL, his former college teammate had yet to play a snap in the NFL. Not even the preseason. Two stints on injured reserve in his first two years eventually resulted in the two friends battling for a spot on the 2017 Steelers roster.

Golson got injured, again, and Hilton did nothing but make plays in the preseason. However, fans have fallen in love with players in the preseason, only to watch those players be signed to the practice squad, or outright released. But there was something about Hilton the coaching staff liked, and he, not Golson, made the team’s 53-man roster.

Some assumed Hilton would just be a special teams player, but for the team’s Week 1 game vs. the Cleveland Browns he was the nickel defensive back in the team’s sub packages.

Week after week, rep after rep, Hilton doesn’t just improve, he continues to make plays on a weekly basis. And no game was bigger for Hilton than the performance he had vs. the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.

It was only a matter of time before @MikeHilton_38 would get his 1st career sack and INT, but in the same game?!

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.c...es-for-the-pittsburgh-steelers-senquez-golson
 
I feel badly for Golson. That poor kid just never even got a shot. Did he even finish a practice? Maybe he'll pick up with another team at some point. It's not that I ever wished him ill. He just couldn't perform.

And then, from out of the heavens, we get Hilton in the fold. That kid just seems to work. He's one of those lunch-pail guys. I like him.
 
I saw it coming. I've been pimping him all preseason!

Don't need any accolades though, I'm just happy he's doing well and contributing on the field. I was confused a bit last week thinking Cockrell was on the field...
 
This kid knows how to cover his assignments an always seems to be around the ball or the QB.
 
You can tell he just has "it". He's always around the ball. Excellent pickup.
 
Hilton is a baller. I like how he plays.
 
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