Inside The Panthers

Houston Texans Draft Pitt S Brandon Hill

A multi-year starter in the back end for the Pitt Panthers is off to the NFL.

Stephen Thompson

Houston Texans Draft Pitt S Brandon Hill
Houston Texans Draft Pitt S Brandon Hill /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Houston Texans traded around to wind up with the 248th pick in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft and they used it to take Pitt Panthers safety Brandon Hill. He is the sixth Panther to be drafted this year. 

Hill took over one of Pitt's starting safety jobs in 2020, when Damar Hamlin and Paris Ford's opt-outs created a void in the back-end of the defense. He earned All-ACC honors twice - as an honorable mention in 2022 and as a second-team selection in 2021, when he was also a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the best safety in college football. 

Hill is a hard-hitter with a nose for the ball as well. He showed off blazing speed by running the fastest 40-yard dash time of any safety at the NFL Combine. He ended his Pitt career with 172 total tackles, three interceptions, 12 passes defended and three forced fumbles in 40 career games. 

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Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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