Hilton pegged as the Steelers’ pre-camp sleeper
Maurkice Pouncey has his finger on the pulse of the Pittsburgh Steelers and possesses a good eye for talent, so it wasn鈥檛 a surprise that Pouncey鈥檚 pre-camp sleeper a year ago, RB Daryl Richardson, led the Steelers in preseason rushing, made the team and even carried the ball a couple of times in active duty.
Richardson lasted until Christmas Eve.
Got a sleeper this year, Maurkice?
鈥淭his year?鈥� Pouncey asked as he looked around the locker room.
鈥淥h, man,鈥� he said as he paused to look around some more.
鈥淥h, I know,鈥� Pouncey said as the light bulb went on. 鈥淔orty. The cornerback. Michael.鈥�
Pouncey pointed to Mike Hilton, the sub-5-9 cornerback with the No. 40 jersey that appeared to be a size too large.
鈥淢an, he plays,鈥� Pouncey said. 鈥淗e gets after the ball, has good instincts, plays hard. Man, he鈥檚 smart. He鈥檚 making a lot of plays.鈥�
Isn鈥檛 he a bit short?
鈥淟otta people short,鈥� Pouncey said. 鈥淏rent Grimes short and he鈥檚 made the Pro Bowl several times.鈥�
Brent Grimes had just been mentioned by another short cornerback, Senquez Golson, when Golson was asked about Hilton, Golson鈥檚 former teammate at Ole Miss.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if y鈥檃ll been watching from the sidelines now, but he can play,鈥� Golson said of Hilton. 鈥淵eah, he can play.鈥�
Hilton was signed to the Steelers鈥� practice squad last December to replace Travis Feeney, and was signed to a futures contract the following month. Hilton opened this past spring in the slot with the third team, and a diving interception in OTA 5 was followed on the next snap by a diving pass break-up, and those plays appeared to catapult Hilton onto the first team the next day, June 1, to replace the resting Will Gay.
The following week Hilton became ensconced as the second-team slot, with Golson moving outside, and Hilton made a diving interception of a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the red zone.
Hilton finished OTAs with an interception of Landry Jones in the end zone to end the first team鈥檚 two-minute drill.
He may not pass the size test, but Hilton showed this spring that he won鈥檛 merely be a camp body, that he鈥檚 going to compete for a roster spot.
鈥淎in鈥檛 no doubt about it,鈥� said Golson.
Of course, that size bias can be a hurdle.
鈥淢an, I鈥檓 in the same boat,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淚 ain鈥檛 too much taller.鈥�
Actually, according to NFL Combine measurements, Golson, at 5-8 5/8, is a tick shorter than the 5-8戮 Hilton.
Grimes, by the way, measures 5-9录 and has been named to four Pro Bowls with Tampa Bay.
鈥淩ichard Sherman changed the thinking,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淏ut how tall was Deion? Revis was maybe 5-11. You鈥檝e got Terrell Buckley, Brent Grimes. You鈥檝e got some of the best in the world and they鈥檙e smaller corners.鈥�
The Ole Miss corners were tall enough to defeat Alabama in 2014. Golson made the key play. His end-zone interception of a pass to 6-6 tight end O.J. Howard sealed the upset for Ole Miss.
Hilton was on the other side of the field as the boundary cornerback. He also started at the rover Huskie position for Ole Miss that season and led the team with 71 tackles. In his Ole Miss career, Hilton started at all five secondary positions and intercepted six passes, broke up 24 others, forced four fumbles, had 3陆 sacks and made 225 tackles, 25陆 for a loss of yardage.
But the 178-pounder ran a 4.55 40 and went undrafted in 2016. Hilton signed with Jacksonville as a safety, but was released Aug. 29. The New England Patriots signed him to their practice squad, but Hilton was released eight days later. He sat idle for a couple of months before signing with the Steelers.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 starting to get noticed,鈥� Hilton said during the final week of spring practice. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not focused on how many reps I get or which team it鈥檚 with. It鈥檚 just an opportunity for me.鈥�
Hilton did admit that being with the team last year gave him a jump on the rookies this spring. Of course, that was his humility speaking. This is a guy who was an honors student at Ole Miss and was recognized with the prestigious Chucky Mullins Courage Award as a senior. Hilton wore the late Mullins鈥� No. 38 jersey in 2015.
鈥淓very year somebody gets elected to be Chucky and he was Chucky Mullins,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淐hucky鈥檚 a big deal, and that鈥檚 what we started calling him, 鈥楥hucky.鈥� That needs to be the title of your article: Mr. Chucky Mullins.鈥�
Hilton pointed to Golson as one of the top highlights of his Ole Miss career.
鈥淗aving one of my best friends on the other side of me was pretty good for our chemistry,鈥� Hilton said. 鈥淲e just went out there and had fun.鈥�
Hilton said that he and Golson have remained best friends and believes Golson had a hand in the Steelers signing him. Golson denied it.
鈥淲e get asked about players that we played with and stuff like that, but it was definitely more of a coincidence,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淲hen I heard we signed him, I hit him with 鈥榊o, place to stay, just hit me.鈥� And it鈥檚 great for us, too, for off the field, having grown up and played together, learning things, different things like that.鈥�
At Ole Miss in 2014, the two cornerbacks combined for 13 interceptions as the Rebels finished second in the nation in interceptions and first in points allowed.
鈥淲e were the No. 1 defense in the country my senior year,鈥� Golson said. 鈥淗e was a big part of that. Hard hitter. Smart, and that was the reason they moved him around a lot. He knew basically every position in the secondary.鈥�
That kind of versatility should help Hilton with the Steelers.
鈥淚t will,鈥� said Hilton. 鈥淚n certain coverages now I have to roll to safety. I actually had Coach T talk to me about staying on top of the free safety and strong safety stuff just in case. That鈥檚 another opportunity I look at.鈥�
And another opportunity for Pouncey to be right.