Mike Hilton

Hilton began attending the University of Mississippi in 2012. After sitting out the Rebels' season-opener against Central Arkansas, Hilton made his collegiate debut in Week 2 against UTEP. He recorded his first two career tackles the following week as Ole Miss lost to Texas. Hilton made his first career start on October 6, 2012, against Texas A&M, finishing with three solo tackles, a forced fumble, and two sacks of Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel as the Rebels lost 27–30. In Week 8, he recorded a season-high six combined tackles and had the first two pass deflections of his career, helping the Rebels defeat Arkansas 30–27.[1] He played in 12 games as a freshman, starting four and finishing with 33 combined tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.[2]

Hilton started the Ole Miss Rebels' season-opener against Vanderbilt at their "Huskie" position (hybrid strong safety). He finished the 39–35 victory with five total tackles, two of which were for a loss. On October 5, 2013, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 22–30 loss to Auburn. On November 16, 2013, Hilton made his first career interception to go along with four combined tackles as the Rebels defeated Troy 51–21. He finished the season with 52 combined tackles (37 solo), 5.5 tackles for a loss, four pass deflections, a sack, and a forced fumble in 11 games and 11 starts.[3]

In the Ole Miss Rebels' season-opening 35–13 victory over Boise State, Hilton recorded a season-high nine combined tackles. On September 13, 2014, he collected four combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first interception of the season in a 56–15 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. On October 25, 2014, he accumulated eight combined tackles and made his third interception of the season in a 7–10 loss to #24 LSU. Hilton finished his junior season with career-high 71 combined tackles (48 solo), four tackles for a loss, three interceptions, and seven pass deflections in 13 starts and 13 games.[4] He led the team with 71 tackles and started 11 games at cornerback and two games as rover.[2]

As a senior, Hilton was given the #38 jersey This number holds special significance at Ole Miss and is only given to a select player who embodies the spirit of former Rebels defensive back Chucky Mullins, who in 1989 became paralyzed after making a head-first tackle that shattered four vertebrae in his cervical spine.[5]

In a 73–22 victory over Fresno State in Week 2, Hilton collected six combined tackles (one for a loss), a forced fumble, and half a sack while starting at rover. On October 10, 2015, he recorded four combined tackles (three for a loss), a pass deflection, and his first interception of the season in a 52–3 victory over New Mexico State. The following week, the Rebels were defeated by Memphis with Hilton making a career-high 11 combined tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, a pass deflection, and an interception. He finished his senior season with 70 combined tackles (49 solo), 12.5 tackles for a loss, 11 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions in 11 starts and 13 games.[6]

Hilton finished his college career with 226 combined tackles (156 solo), 25.5 tackles for a loss, 24 pass deflections, six interceptions, four forced fumbles, and 3.5 sacks in 49 games and 39 starts.

On May 1, 2016, Hilton was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2016 NFL Draft.[10]

Throughout training camp, Hilton competed with Aaron Colvin, Dwayne Gratz, Peyton Thompson, Josh Johnson, Demetrius McCray, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, and Nick Marshall for a job as a backup cornerback.[11] On August 29, 2016, the Jacksonville Jaguars released Hilton as a part of their final roster cuts.[12]

On September 6, 2016, Hilton was signed to the Patriots' practice squad.[13] He was released by the team on September 14, 2016.[14]

On December 13, 2016, Hilton was signed to the Steelers' practice squad.[15] Hilton spent the remainder of his rookie season on the Steelers' practice squad and did not appear in any games in 2016. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 24, 2017.[16] He reunited with his former teammate Senquez Golson whom he played with and backed up at Ole Miss.

Hilton entered training camp competing with William Gay and Senquez Golson for the job as the starting nickelback. Hilton was named the starting nickelback to begin the regular season.[17]

External video
Mike Hilton records a speedy third sack of the game
Hilton plucks tipped pass with one handed interception

He made his regular season debut during the Steelers' 21–18 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns and finished the game with two combined tackles. The following week, he earned his first career start and recorded a season-high nine combined tackles during a 26–9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. On October 1, 2017, Hilton collected four solo tackles, earned his first career sack, and made his first career interception off of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco during the Steelers' 26–9 victory.[18] On December 25, 2017, Hilton recorded six solo tackles as well as three sacks on Houston Texans' quarterbacks T. J. Yates and Taylor Heinicke during the Steelers' 34–6 victory, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.[19][20] Hilton finished the season with 64 combined tackles (48 solo), six pass deflections, four sacks, and two interceptions in 16 games and four starts.[21] Hilton received an overall grade of 83.6 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 28th-best grade among all cornerbacks in 2017.[22]

External video
Mike Hilton recovers ball after Carr’s pass slips

Hilton changed his jersey number from No. 31 to No. 28 after it became available when Sean Davis and Joe Haden also changed numbers.[23] Head coach Mike Tomlin retained Hilton as the primary nickelback to begin the regular season and also named him the fifth backup cornerback, behind Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Coty Sensabaugh, and Cameron Sutton.[24] On September 24, 2018, Hilton made five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 30-27 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hilton sustained an elbow injury during the game and was subsequently inactive for the Steelers’ Week 4 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.[25] In Week 14, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 24-21 loss at the Oakland Raiders. He finished the season with 57 combined tackles (44 solo), eight pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 15 games and two starts.[21] He received an overall grade of 69.9 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 43rd-best grade among cornerbacks in 2018.[26]

In Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, Hilton recorded his first interception of the season off Lamar Jackson in the 26–23 overtime loss.[27] In Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, Hilton forced a fumble on running back Mark Walton which was recovered by teammate Steven Nelson in the 27–14 win.[28] In Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football, Hilton recovered a fumble forced by teammate T.J. Watt on running back Devin Singletary during the 17–10 loss.[29]

On March 18, 2020, the Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Hilton. He signed the tender on June 12, 2020.[30]

In Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, Hilton led the team with eight tackles, recorded his first sack of the season on Jeff Driskel, and recovered a fumble during the 26–21 win.[31] In Week 3 against the Houston Texans, Hilton recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Deshaun Watson during the 28–21 win.[32] In Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hilton again led the team with eight tackles and sacked Carson Wentz once during the 38–29 win.[33] In Week 14 against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football, Hilton intercepted a pass thrown by Josh Allen and forced a fumble on Dawson Knox that was recovered by the Steelers during the 26–15 loss.[34] In Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts, Hilton recovered a fumble lost by Philip Rivers and intercepted a pass thrown by Rivers late in the fourth quarter to secure a 28–24 win for the Steelers.[35] Hilton earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance in Week 16.[36]