Hilliard grabs his first offer
Strong interest from Indiana in the spring led to an appearance at the Hoosiers' camp from Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier class of 2014 running back C.J. Hilliard. That showing led to Hilliard's first scholarship offer of the process on Friday.
"[Indiana] had actually called my football coach," Hilliard said. "We were playing a [baseball] doubleheader and in between my dad told me to call Coach [Steve] Specht. He gave me the phone and told me he had some news for me.
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"It felt pretty good to find that out. Indiana was a really cool place when I went there for the camp. It is someplace I could go to."
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Hilliard has been receiving a lot of attention from Division I programs after rushing for over 400 yards on just 85 carries as a sophomore. Finally getting on the board with an offer was a relief for Hilliard, though.
"It was a relief because I was looking [around] and seeing all my buddies getting offers, so it feels good to finally get one too," Hilliard said.
Hilliard attended Indiana's camp last weekend, where he worked with Hoosiers' running backs coach Deland McCullough.
"We went through running back drills and all that, then talked about the running back situation at Indiana," Hilliard said. "I learned a lot from him and just felt really comfortable with him."
Hilliard is also an accomplished baseball player who could have Division I opportunities in that sport. Due to a hectic summer baseball season he has not been able to attend other camps, but he will participate in the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge next month in Dallas, Tex.