Justin Hilliard #47 Linebacker, Freshman: Justin Hilliard is actually very similar to the last player I highlighted, Darron Lee. Both are speedy outside linebackers with average size, both are from Ohio originally, in fact if they don't play together one day, it's likely that Hilliard will replace Lee. Now as an Iowa fan I've heard of the name Hilliard, Justin's older brother was on the Iowa football team up until the start of the season if I remember correctly. C.J. Hilliard transferred not to long ago to the University of Ohio. Iowa had an outside shot of landing Justin Hilliard due to C.J. being on the team at the time but Justin ended up choosing Ohio State. I guess the University of Iowa and the Hilliard's just don't get along.
Now to the football part of Justin Hilliard, at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati Hilliard racked up around 190 tackles a dozen sacks and about 5 interceptions through the 3 years he started. Looking at highlights of both Darron Lee and Justin Hilliard you can easily notice the similarities, however there are certain differences. At times with Darron Lee it seems that he may commit too hard to landing a big hit which can influence his tackling ability in the open field. With Justin Hilliard I think he probably can hit just as hard as Lee however he does a good job of pursuing the ball and making a precise tackle, most juke moves can't shake him. Hilliard is slightly slower than Lee, but as a linebacker being slower than Darron Lee isn't exactly an insult.
There are a few other unique parts of Hilliard's game, he showed a decent ability to make moves to shed blocks, even against bigger linemen. One other thing I noticed was Hilliard's ability to swat down passes as he rushed the quarterback. To sum everything up, one thing is very clear, Ohio State fans should feel very good about the outside linebacker position.
http://247sports.com/Player/Justin-Hilliard-30932
http://247sports.com/Player/Justin-Hilliard-30932
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