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Report: Kylin Hill not expected play for Mississippi State for 2020 season
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Kylin Hill’s time with the Mississippi State football program appears to be coming to an end.
According to numerous reports on Tuesday, Hill will not return to the Bulldogs this year, instead opting to turn his attention to getting ready for the NFL Draft. The news was first reported by AL.com’s Matt Zenitz, with ESPN’s Chris Low and Alex Scarborough stating the same.
Hill took to his Twitter and Instagram accounts to dispute Zenitz’s original report, though, posting “Dang I left the team? Thats news for me also”. He would later delete the message from both social networking sites.
The senior ran for 1,350 yards on 242 carries last season, recording 10 touchdowns. He also made 18 catches for 180 yards and 1 touchdown. Through 3 games in 2020, he had hauled in 23 catches for 237 yards and 1 score while carrying it 15 times for 58 yards in Mike Leach’s revamped offense, choosing to return for a final year instead of declaring after the 2019 campaign.
–@tbhorka on Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill: "This is a guy who a lot of people didn’t think was going to play college football at all in 2020. He’s a young man who could have made that decision, but there was so much optimism coming into this season about Mike Leach’s system.”
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) October 27, 2020
But the Columbus, Miss. native did not play in the Bulldogs’ 28-14 loss to Texas A&M in Starkville on Oct. 17, serving a suspension due to his “actions and reactions” following their 24-2 defeat at Kentucky on Oct. 10.
With Hill’s reported departure, it could mean added opportunities for a pair of true freshmen in Dillon Johnson and Jo’Quavious Marks. Marks ran the ball 7 times for 25 yards while making 9 catches for 40 yards against the Aggies, while Johnson was used sparingly.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.