An anxious day of waiting Thursday was followed by a night in which a dream materialized. Former Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill, ranked by one recruiting service as the 99th-best wide receiver in the country in his high school class, turned into the New York Jets’ second-round selection Friday night.
“It feels like I’m in the right spot,” Hill told reporters in New York shortly after his selection.
Hill’s selection as the 43rd overall pick and the sixth wide receiver completed an eventful process after he declared for the draft in January following his junior season. He made the jump despite the conclusion of a board of NFL scouts that he had no potential to be selected in the first three rounds.
However, Hill electrified the scouting combine in February with a 40-yard dash time of 4.36 seconds and sharp route running. He followed it with a strong showing at Tech’s March 6 pro day, which Jets staff attended. The Jets also had a formal meeting with him and an additional private workout and invited him to Jets headquarters in New Jersey for more interviews.
He was projected in many mock drafts to be selected in the late first round, meriting an invitation to the draft in New York.
The first round came and went Thursday night without his name being called. Of the 26 players invited to New York, he was the 24th to be selected. After he was announced Friday night, he bounded onto the Radio City Music Hall stage, a huge grin on his face.
“It was definitely a long day of waiting [Thursday], but wherever I was picked, I was happy to go to that team, but now I’m definitely glad I’m with the Jets,” Hill said.
Hill, from Miller Grove High, is the third Tech receiver to be taken in the first two rounds in the past in six years, following first-rounders Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas in 2007 and 2010, respectively. He is also the first high school recruit signed by coach Paul Johnson to be drafted.
The draft continues Saturday with rounds 4-7. Former Tech players such as Roddy Jones, Jason Peters and Steven Sylvester probably will be picked up as unsigned free agents following the draft.
“I feel great, especially now that I’m in an offense where I can catch the ball a little bit more,” Hill said.
