How A Community College WR Became the NFL's Fastest Man

Tyreek Hill is the most game-breaking receiver in the NFL today but before he even got to the league he lost almost everything from Community College to becoming one of the fastest players the NFL has ever seen this is the story of Tyreek Hill Tyreek story starts in the small town of Pearson Georgia he was born to two teenage parents Derek Shaw and Anisha Sanchez but they didn't raise him Tyreek was instead raised by his grandparents Herman and Virginia Hill despite his grandparents stepping up and taking him in they dealt with legal issues throughout his entire childhood constantly being in and out of jail regardless Tyreek never took what they did for him for granted and ended up taking their last name because of it when Tyreek was only 3 years old his grandparents already knew he was fast whenever he played catch with his grandmother she couldn't keep up so when he was 5 years old his grandfather got him into sports becoming his first youth football coach it was immediately clear that Tyreek was special none of the kids his age could catch him on the field and over the years every kid in town wanted to be on his grandfather's team because they knew they'd get to play with Tyreek once he reached High School Hill's athletic prowess was on full display as a freshman he originally attended Atkinson County high school but the school was Tiny and the coaching staff had no idea how to handle a talent of his caliber so his grandparents who had unwavering faith in their grandson decided to pick up and move 20 minutes up the road so Tyreek could attend the much larger coffee high school during his time at Coffee Tyreek flourished as an athlete but not so much because of football it was his decision to join the track team his sophomore year that changed everything short he was a great running back for the football team but by Hill senior year he was one of the greatest high school track athletes we've ever seen Tyreek one states in the 100 met 200 M and long jump and his 200 meter time of 20. 4 seconds missed the High School record set over 25 years earlier by just 100th of a second Tyreek also competed in junior Nationals and the World Junior Championships he claimed USA junior outdoor track and field titles in the 100 meter and 200 meter races then at the World Junior Championships he placed fourth in the 100 meter and earned a bronze medal in the 200 m with times on par with actual Olympic sprinters but while Tyreek was breaking records on the track his home life wasn't getting any better for a while he was practically homeless his family couldn't afford to keep the lights on and he would stay up late comforting his grandmother while she cried her eyes out and unfortunately tyre's Rocky home life was seriously affecting his grades at school even though Hill was getting offers from schools all over the country because of his Elite Speed he couldn't meet any College's academic requirements if he wanted to continue his athletic career he would have to go to a community college to to improve his GPA so he enrolled at Garden City Community College in Kansas while attending Garden City Tyreek continued to run track and played on the Garden City broncbusters football team he played just about every position for the broncbusters he lined up at receiver running back kick returner and even quarterback to take direct snaps basically any way they could get the ball in tyre's hands they would do it during his sophomore year he ran for 659 yards and five touchdowns while also catching 67 passes for 532 yards and six touchdowns but more importantly he raised his GPA to a point where D1 schools could actually give him a look after dominating for 2 years Tyreek was ranked number three Joo Prospect in the nation he received offers from several top schools including Alabama Oklahoma Florida State and Texas but he ultimately committed to Oklahoma State beginning his D1 career as a cowboy and as usual Tyreek got off to a fast start in his first year in Stillwater heill became one of the most dynamic athletes in college football serving as a jack of all trades for the Cowboys he hauled in 31 passes for 381 yards 740 kick return yards for two touchdowns 256 punt return yards for one touchdown and he averaged 5. 2 yards per carry with 534 rushing yards he ranked 11th in the nation for allpurpose yards with a total of 1,811 and his 996 combined return yards were second in the nation his performance earned him the Big 12 offensive newcomer of the Year award and on the track hill was even more electric he broke multiple OSU school records while also becoming the first cowo boy ever to Garner indoor All-American honors but just when it seemed like everything was going right for Tyreek he found the one thing he couldn't outrun the law in December 2014 Oklahoma State announced that they would be dismissing Hill from the football and track team after his arrest and guilty plea for domestic violence with that on his record Tyreek became a complete no-go for every D1 school in the country he dealt with the issues surrounding his charges for nearly a year and it looked like Hill's college football career was all but over then he got one of the most important calls of his his life Brett Gillan the head coach at West Alabama decided he would be the one to give Tyreek a second chance Hill had already reached out to West Alabama after being dismissed from OSU and gilland initially declined after reading the police report but after reaching out to tyre's former coaches and mentors coach gilland was swayed to give him another shot it was a chance that Hill would not let slip coach called me he's like reek you ready to play some football I'm like nah man I ain't want to talk right now cuz the school just turned me down he's like re I got the transcript in 11 games at West Alabama Tyreek totaled 1, 143 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns making an impact the way he always had on the ground through the air and in the return game but were his numbers good enough for NFL teams to overlook his past that was the question because after one season at West Alabama Hill declared for the NFL draft despite his undeniable talent for most teams Tyreek was considered undraftable because of his legal issues he was projected to go undrafted by almost every major analyst and he didn't receive an invite to the NFL combine but when the time came for West Alabama's Pro Day Hill was ready to put on a show and after he ran a 4.

29 40-yard dash his head coach was sure that 20 plus NFL teams were interested in him but when the draft came around it looked like tyre's coach was wrong the 2016 NFL draft started and as the rounds went on the analysts seemed to be right Tyreek was going undrafted then finally with the 165th pick in the fifth round the Kansas City Chiefs selected Ty Tyreek Hill 165th pick Kansas City chief select Tyreek Hill at the time many members of the chief's Kingdom were understandably upset with the pick because of tyreeks past but it didn't take him long to completely change their minds Chief's coach Andy Reid had been known for taking in athletes with troubled PS and giving them Second Chances he did the same thing by drafting Travis Kelce in 2013 and as the coach of the Eagles he brought in Michael Vic in 2019 coach Reed was confident that Tyreek was on the path to be a better man and was doing everything he could to try and make up for his past mistakes but not even big red could have expected what was to come from Hill because little did the Chiefs know they had just drafted one of the best receivers in NFL history Tyreek started his NFL career as a return man because he was pretty far down the depth chart as a receiver but from the jump it was clear his speed was game-changing in week two Hill took a kickoff to the house and reached a still-standing NFL record speed of 23. 24% league on notice there was a new fastest man this was also when he cemented his self-proclaimed nickname cheetah and even without much playing time cheetah's speed allowed him to affect the game in so many ways like in the Chiefs week 12 overtime win against the Broncos when Hill scored a rushing receiving and kick return touchdown becoming the first player since 1965 to score all three ways in a single game Tyreek finished his rookie campaign with 61 receptions for 593 yards and six touchdowns but was also the league best Return Man and was named a pro bowler and first team allpro as a returner an amazing start for a fifth round pick that had no room for error then that offseason the chiefs made a move that was somehow better than taking a chance on Tyreek Hill while having Alex Smith on the roster they moved up in the 2017 draft to take another quarterback yeah that guy but we'll get back to him later going into his second season Tyreek wanted to build on his ability as a receiver everyone now knew about his speed but could he ever be anything more than a gadget guy well his first game of the 2017 season answered that question he went for a career-high 133 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Patriots he would continue to establish himself as the chief's number one receiver throughout the season and finish the year with a team leading 1,83 receiving yards and seven touchdowns he also had another great season as a punt returner being selected to his second straight Pro Bowl as a return specialist but despite Hill taking the next step as a receiver the chiefs were bounced from the playoffs in their first game for the second year in a row so it was time for a change Alex Smith was a good quarterback but he couldn't get the Chiefs over the hump in the playoffs so they moved on from him and went into the 2018 season with Patrick Mahomes as their new starter and as we all know the Chiefs offense exploded with Mahomes at QB heill went from a solid wide receiver to one of the best receivers in the league on his first touch of the 2018 regular season he returned to punt for a 91 yd touchdown bling speed Tyreek Hill electrifying later in that same game he caught mom's first passing touchdown of the year and finished the Chiefs season opener with 169 receiving yards and three total touchdowns this game was the start of something beautiful momes and cheetah's skill sets complemented each other perfectly Pats arm strength and ability to extend plays made Hill an impossible cover for DBS I mean how are you supposed to guard that kind of speed for any extended period of time well you don't and most teams found that out the hard way Tyreek went over 100 yards on six different occasions That season including a career-high 215 receiving yards against the Rams on Monday Night Football by the time the regular season ended Tyreek had set career highs in every receiving category he finished with 87 receptions for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns Landing him back in the Pro Bowl and on the first all proo team but this time as a receiver the Chiefs won the division for the third year in a row but could they finally make some noise in the playoffs well they did make it out of the divisional round for the first time in years blowing past the Colts 3113 but when they met the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game they fell short as so many teams had over the years belich was known for game planning to take away a team's best offensive playmaker and that's exactly what he did to Tyreek cheetah only hauled in one reception for 42 yards the entire game and the Chiefs lost 3731 in overtime but it was still an incredible season for Hill and that offseason he got paid inking a 3-year $54 million extension with the chief securing a Payday like that is huge especially for a former fifth round pick but it comes with a new kind of pressure you got to back it up and tyreeks start to the 2019 season was rough he suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener against the Jags causing him to miss the next four games sometimes injuries like that can linger and derail a player's entire season but Cheeto was different his first game back in week six against the Texans he'll went for 80 yards and two touchdowns picking up right where he left off Tyreek finished the season with 58 ceptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns and the Chiefs captured another division title but in the playoffs Kansas City seemed like a team of Destiny first they overcame a 240 deficit against the Texans to win 5131 then in the AFC championship against the Titans they were down 10 nothing and came back to win 35-24 with the help of 67 yards and two touchdowns from Tyreek but cheetah saved his best performance for the Super Bowl matching up against the 49ers it was the classic battle of Unstoppable Force versus immovable object the Chiefs high-powered offense versus the ners stifling defense and after three quarters the Chiefs found themselves in a familiar position down double digits again it was 20110 in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs desperately needed a spark so on Third and 15 who did Mahomes go to Tyreek Hill and the Chiefs never looked back they'd go on to score 21 unanswered points to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years we did it we did it World mother man we did it man Tyreek finished the game with nine receptions for 105 yards and easily the most important play of the game but after winning their first Super Bowl all the Chiefs could think about was the next one and after the 2020 season it looked like they were going to be the NFL's newest Dynasty tyq returned to the first all proo team with 87 receptions 1,276 yards and a career-high 15 receiving touchdowns and the Chiefs finished the season 14-2 securing another division title this playoff run Casey never really looked like losing and Tyreek was dominant he caught eight passes for 110 yards in a 2217 win of the Browns then in the AFC Championship he had his best playoff performance yet with nine receptions for 172 yards against the bills and KC won 3824 but this time when the big game came around they met an old foe Tom Brady and his new team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers it was a Super Bowl that the chiefs were never really in the Bucks defense smothered them sacking momes three times and hitting him 10 cruising to a 319 Victory Tyreek had seven receptions for 73 yards but Kansas City failed to even score a touchdown in the game a Super Bowl loss like that will leave a sour taste in your mouth and cheetah came back with a vengeance in 2021 he caught a career- high 111 receptions for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns and he didn't slow down in the playoffs 57 yards and a touchdown in the Wild Card round against the Steelers 11 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown in an instant classic divisional round game against the bills but in the AFC Championship despite 78 yards and a touchdown from Hill the Chiefs blew a 213 lead and lost to the Bengals in overtime at this point in Tyreek career he had one year left on a contract that he had simply outperformed he wanted a new deal from the Chiefs but it quickly became clear to both parties that it wasn't going to work and I want to stay with Kelsey I want to stay with Pat I want to stay with my brother so in a Move That Shook the NFL it was announced that the Kansas City Chiefs were trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2022 first round pick a 2022 second round pick two fourth round picks and a 2023 sixth round pick and after the trade he'll signed a 4-year $120 million extension becoming the highest paid wide receiver in NFL history Tyreek move to the Dolphins led to mixed reactions right now I'm one of the best receivers one of the highest paids I'm I'm just in a real good situation on one hand he'd form the fastest wide receiver Duo ever with Jaylen wadt but on the other hand his new quarterback was two AO vioa who was good but very different from Patrick Mahomes two his game was more about accuracy and quick short passes while Cheeto was known for his ability to burn a defense over the top so how would that pairing work out would tyre's skill set be wasted there were plenty of doubters but boy were they wrong Tyreek unlocked a part of two his game that we had never seen before the fit cheetah down there somewhere ability to his yards per pass attempt jumped from 6. 8 the previous year to 8.