Kylin Hill won’t have to travel far to play college football.
The Columbus High School football rising senior verbally committed to Mississippi State via Twitter on Wednesday.
“MSU is family,” Hill said. “They treat you like you’re their favorite cousin.”
The four-star, 5-foot-11, 208-pound running back, who also has offers from Ole Miss, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Oregon State, and others, tweeted it was a tough decision and that he received help from close friends and peers. He expects other schools to continue to recruit him because National Singing Day isn’t until February. He wants to hear other schools in the coming months.
Hill, The Dispatch’s 2015 Large Schools All-Area co-Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 1,801 yards and 18 touchdowns to help the Falcons (8-4) earn a playoff berth last season. Columbus lost to Clinton High in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A playoffs. He also had 21 catches for 336 yards and three more scores.
“The reason I made the decision now was because I don’t need any distractions heading into my senior season,” Hill said. “I’m chasing a championship.”
Hill is the 14th commitment MSU has received for its 2017 signing class, and the second in-state commitment in three days. On Monday, Lafayette High three-star cornerback Tyler Williams committed to MSU.
Hill is rated as the nation’s No. 94 prospect, the nation’s No. 7 running back, and the state’s No. 3 prospect by 247Sports.
“I think I can bring a whole different type of energy to their offense,” Hill said. “It can be deadly.”
The Bulldogs figures to lose at least two running backs (Brandon Holloway and Ashton Shumpert) after this season. MSU has youth at the position in rising sophomores Aeris Williams, a former West Point High standout, and Dontavian Lee and redshirt freshmen Alec Murphy and Nick Gibson. Hill is MSU’s only running back in the Class of 2017.
Although Hill isn’t ending his recruitment, he knows what he is getting if he signs with the Bulldogs in February.
“It’s going to be real on game day,” Hill said. “I already know the entire city is going to come out and support.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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