CORTLAND — Stephen Hill raced down the left sideline, blowing past the self-proclaimed NFL’s best cornerback, Dee Milliner, and into the end zone. The rainbow spiral from Geno Smith arrived in time for Hill to catch the ball and brace himself as Milliner came crashing into him, drawing a pass interference penalty.
Hill drew applause from teammates, but then had to do push-ups because whenever there is a penalty during a Jets practice everyone in the organization has to do push-ups. There seems something unfair about that when you are the victim, though Hill wasn’t complaining.
“I’m just excited I’m out here,” he said later.
The touchdown catch was part of an impressive practice session Hill enjoyed on Friday. It came one day after offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg sang Hill’s praises as being one of the early standouts of training camp.
“Man alive, this offseason and into training camp, he’s taken a huge jump,” Mornhinweg gushed about Hill. “You see that in many cases where receivers in this league, between the second and third year, they make a big jump. He’s certainly done that.”
Maybe Hill isn’t a bust after all. The Jets haven’t gotten much out of him since moving up to select him with a second-round draft pick in 2012. But he looks matured and confident at SUNY-Cortland.
He stood out during individual drills on Friday by using his length and speed to separate himself from defenders. He caught the ball even when delivered low and away from him.
“It’s good to see,” Rex Ryan said.
Hill sparkled on two big catches during team sessions. Both came on deep balls thrown by Smith. Hill knows he has questions to answer.
“Every day I feel like it’s my last day. That’s how I play,” he said. “Nothing is guaranteed in this league. You have to come out here every day and [work hard].”
Still a young 23, Hill is entering his third NFL season out of Georgia Tech. On Mornhinweg’s clock, he’s arriving right on time even though Jets fans have grown impatient. Injuries have deterred his development. He missed the final four games of the 2013 season with a knee injury after playing in only 11 games in 2012. The Jets need Hill to shake the injury bug and blossom into a dependable outside threat who can attract attention opposite Eric Decker.
“He seems to be healthy,” Ryan said of Hill. “That was a big part of it last year. We all noticed he couldn’t escape anybody. He could go in a straight line. But he couldn’t cut. Now he’s healthy and hopefully that’s all behind him.”
The Jets may have reached a bit taking him in the second round in 2012. But he seems worthy of the choice when he practices the way he did on Friday. He remains a raw talent and apparently is still growing, having a climbed an inch to 6-foot-5 during the offseason. Hill seems to have taken lessons learned from Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards and incorporated their knowledge into his own game. He’s becoming his own man.
“Those are hard-nosed guys,” Hill said of his former teammates. “They wanted everything right. It was about being perfect with them. Anything they taught me, I’ve tried to work on it as much as I can.”
The Jets’ receiving corps had to be upgraded. Getting rid of Holmes was an addition by subtraction. Edwards had nothing left and Kellen Winslow broke down. Bringing in Decker from the Broncos was the Jets’ big free-agent signing during the offseason, but the supporting cast is a group of familiar faces that includes Hill, Clyde Gates, Jeremy Kerley and David Nelson. Ryan has raved about the work ethic of the unit.
“There’s a lot of guys pushing each other,” the coach said.
Hill caught just 24 passes for 342 yards in 12 games last year after totaling 21 catches for 252 yards his rookie year. No more baby steps. It’s time for the big jump.