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LB Justin Hilliard (2020 B1G Champ Def POG)

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VETERAN AMONG VETERANS. I'm still not over the NCAA's absolutely inexcusably atrocious bungling of CJ Saunders' waiver decision, but at least they did right to one Buckeye seeking his sixth season.

Justin Hilliard is a veteran of veterans, and Ohio State is extremely lucky to have him leading them this year.



Also, speaking of beating Michigan, Hilliard going to become the first player in Buckeye history to win six pairs of Gold Pants, which is cool and good.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/skul...big-ten-jalen-rose-is-wrong-on-television-and
 
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The former 5-star linebacker from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School arrived in Columbus ahead of the 2015 season with high expectations, a player that Buckeyes opponents would struggle to deal with from any of the three linebacker spots he felt comfortable playing.

Instead, it’s been Hilliard who has had to struggle, dealing with injuries instead in three of his five seasons with Ohio State. It’s been Hilliard who has struggled watching his spot on the depth chart be impacted by those injuries. It’s been Hilliard who has had to prove to himself that he was capable staying on the field before even considering proving to others that he deserved more time on it.

Five seasons. A torn meniscus. Three torn biceps. A torn achilles tendon. Every reason to quit.

Hilliard didn’t quit. He didn’t transfer for playing time somewhere else. No, every time he was knocked down, the 6-foot-1, 231-pound now sixth-year senior got back up.

“It’s weird,” Hilliard said. “Sometimes I really kind of just have to sit back and reflect over on some of the hurdles I’ve had to overcome over the years. Honestly, I think a lot people had this view of me that I’m just here feeling sorry for myself for all the terrible things that have happened to me. But honestly, these past five or however long, eight years, I’ve been here, have been awesome for me.

“I’ve had the time of my life.”

Just sayin': This is a very good article, I just really hope that Hilliard just stays healthy and has a "monster" year.
 
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Now, as a rare sixth-year senior and the only remaining member of Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2015, Hilliard has established himself as one of the Buckeyes’ top team leaders.

“Everybody on the team has an unbelievable amount of respect for Justin,” Washington told Carl Hilliard during the call informing that his son had been named a captain, “for how he handles his business and everything he’s been through.”

Had Hilliard’s career gone the way everyone envisioned when he signed with Ohio State as the class of 2015’s top-ranked prospect from the state of Ohio, he’d already be playing in the NFL. But Hilliard hasn’t let the setbacks he’s had to overcome break his spirit.

Keeping a positive mindset, Hilliard has tried to make the most out of every year he’s had at Ohio State both on and off the field. While enjoying the opportunity to have an unusually long college football career, Hilliard is also closing in on earning a master’s degree after earning his bachelor’s degree from the Fisher College of Business in the spring of 2019.

“I think a lot of people had that view of me of I’m just here feeling sorry for myself for all the terrible things that have happened to me, but honestly, these past five or however long eight years I’ve been here, have been awesome for me,” Hilliard said Tuesday after being named a captain. “I’ve had the time of my life.”

That attitude has been inspirational not only for Hilliard's teammates within the Ohio State football program, but also for his family.

“He’s oftentimes said, I’m not gonna lay here and cry or get depressed,” Carl Hilliard said. “He puts himself in a positive atmosphere. He gives himself positive reinforcements. He likes people to be positive around him. He doesn’t want any self-pity. So what I’ve learned from him the most is to take a bad situation and grow from it and make it better.”
 
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Don't @ me bro
I know I'm the guy that brought this up

BUT

It seems to me that the NCAA has an opportunity to do what they do best here.

Maybe one of the rule experts could parse this for us... But to the best of my understanding, there are two aspects to eligibility. 1) Total seasons played (four), and 2) Duration (5 years).

Where this might go sideways is if they decide that the 2020 "exemption" only applies to #1 and not to #2. Hilliard's waiver, if I understand it correctly, extended #2 to 6 years already. They could say that, though he still has a season left, that his time ran out.

I think what's best for all is that Justin plays his way into the first round of next year's draft and all of this remains idle speculation.
 
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GAME-TIME DECISION: LB Justin Hilliard

After Haskell Garrett (who has been cleared to play); this is the guy I most hope gets cleared to play and gets significant playing time. He's been waiting 6 years now.
 
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ScriptOhio said:
GAME-TIME DECISION: LB Justin Hilliard

After Haskell Garrett (who has been cleared to play); this is the guy I most hope gets cleared to play and gets significant playing time. He's been waiting 6 years now.
Click to expand...

For sure, was bummed to see he might not play tomorrow...worked so damn hard to have the chance to finally. Defense will be fine if he doesn't play but you just want it for Justin individually so bad.
 
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A FALSE POSITIVE
Justin Hilliard, a sixth-year linebacker, traveled with Ohio State to State College, Pennsylvania, and watched Saturday’s game from the sidelines. He didn’t, however, get to play in the showdown under the lights.

Once he arrived, he took a rapid-response COVID-19 test, which came back positive. A subsequent PCR test – which takes longer, is generally seen as more accurate and is used to confirm a test result – came back negative for coronavirus. Thus, it was deemed a false positive.

Still, per Big Ten rules, he was unable to suit up with the Buckeyes and enter the game since he had tested positive once.

“The way the Big Ten protocol is is that he was still not allowed to play, which is about as heart-wrenching as you could imagine,” Day said. “We talked about it before the game as a team. We're going to keep Justin in the back of our mind. We're not really sure why that happened to him, but maybe that was some sort of intervention or whatever. But we felt awful for Justin.

“I know it's something that is being discussed and will continue to be discussed to try to find out ways to make it better. But that was the policy that was in place. I know the Big Ten's continually talking about it and trying to figure out what's the best thing moving forward.”

As long as Hilliard continues to test negative for COVID-19, he will be able to make his season debut against Rutgers after also missing the season opener against Nebraska.



Can Justin Hilliard finally get some good luck for Ohio State?
The rule might not make a ton of sense on the surface, so it figures that it would be one that tripped up Justin Hilliard. The Ohio State linebacker is one of the most snakebitten players the program has seen in recent memory, and he became the first player of the season to have to deal with the fallout of a false-positive COVID-19 test before a game.

The Buckeyes were able to confirm that his positive rapid-response test was negative through its normal protocol with a PCR test, which is why it was comfortable allowing him to be on the sidelines and travel home with the team from Penn State. Ohio State doesn’t publicly divulge specifics about its testing practices, but multiple sources confirmed to Lettermen Row what happened with Hilliard and also indicated that there was nothing it could do to get the senior cleared to play on Saturday night due to Big Ten guidelines. Hilliard won’t have to sit out for three weeks, though, and he will be eligible for action against Rutgers — if he can finally catch a break.

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Gloom, despair, and agony on him
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck
he'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on him

Just sayin': Sure hope he gets some significant playing time vs Rutgers. He deserves it.
 
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buckeyemania11 said:
Nice to see Justin make a big play with that Forced Fumble and recovery.
Click to expand...



HILLIARD FORCES FUMBLE IN SEASON DEBUT
Now in the sixth and final year of an Ohio State career that has been filled with health-related setbacks, Justin Hilliard’s 2020 season started out with more of the same. He missed the Buckeyes’ season opener against Nebraska with what he described as a minor injury, then was barred from playing in their second game of the year against Penn State after a false positive test for COVID-19.

Finally cleared to play on both fronts against Rutgers, Hilliard made his presence felt in his awaited season debut.

During the second quarter of Saturday night’s game, Hilliard forced a fumble on a screen pass to Cruikshank and recovered the loose ball himself, giving Ohio State the ball at Rutgers’ 32-yard line, which led to a touchdown.

Given the way the season started, and how his whole career has gone, it meant a lot for Hilliard to be able to make a big play for the Buckeyes in his first game of the year.

“This whole offseason, the focus has been just keep getting better, because I know this is my last shot at playing. So being out there today means so much,” Hilliard said. “That’s something we practice on, the coaches do a great job of preparing us each week of different things offenses are going to try to get us with, and yeah, I was glad I was able to make that play.”

USATSI_15175876.jpg


Justin Hilliard forced a fumble and recovered it himself in his first game of the season.

Hilliard acknowledged that he was frustrated and even a little bit angry that he wasn’t able to play at Penn State, in what would have been his final game against the Nittany Lions, because Big Ten policy (which has since been changed) prohibited him from playing even though he took a PCR test that he confirmed he did not have COVID-19. He knew he couldn’t dwell on that this past week, though, as he prepared for the Scarlet Knights.

“It sucks, but we’re moving on,” Hilliard said.
 
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