Kylin Hill, a Columbus native known for his days as an electric running back at Columbus High and Mississippi State with a short stint in the NFL, is back in his hometown joining the local coaching ranks.
New Hope announced on Friday that it has hired the 2019 Conerly Trophy winner as its running backs coach. Head coach Allen Glenn said that he had known of Hill and his prowess on the field as a ball carrier for a long time, but learned that Hill was wanting to get into the coaching game just a few months ago from some members of the Trojans’ staff who went to school with him. Seeing that New Hope had an opening for a running backs coach, it was a no-brainer to give Hill a call and see if the two could make something happen. Now the running backs at New Hope have the opportunity to learn from the 2019 All-SEC selection who rumbled for 2,535 yards and 16 touchdowns as a Bulldog.
“He’s a very bright guy,” Glenn said. “The time that we have been around each other (I’ve seen that) he’s very knowledgeable about the running back position. (He) obviously played at a very high level with that, but just brings a lot to the table from the standpoint of being able to relate to kids. Our kids have already just gravitated toward him, and then just having that youth on our staff that is not completely too far removed from where our kids are today, It gives our kids also the ability to see somebody local who did it at a high level come back and give back to the area here in a coaching situation. He’s going to be really good for us, and we’re fired up to have him and for him to join our program.”
Hill said he’s equally as amped up to get coaching at New Hope.
“I feel like I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s a different path for me, a great path for me to still be around the game of football. Everybody has seen me play around here and I’m very excited for everybody to see me coach, so I’m very excited. … It’s been something I’ve always wanted to do, it was all about the timing with it. I feel like where my mind is spaced at right now it is a great time for it, especially with my youth. I’m still young so a lot of people can relate to me.”
Hill starred on the field at Columbus during his high school days, rushing for 1,750 yards and 27 touchdowns in his senior year, and headed to Starkville for his college career beginning in 2017. There he spent three years at State as a powerful and speedy running back, running for 1,350 yards and 10 scores his final season. Hill was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft but had his career cut short by a season-ending knee injury against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season. He was waived by the Packers at the beginning of the 2022 season and went on to have stints in the Canadian Football League and the United Football League.
Hill famously made an impact off the field during his time in Starkville, when, in 2020, he threatened to boycott the season if Mississippi didn’t change its state flag to one not featuring Confederate iconography. His activism, along with that of other MSU and Ole Miss players and coaches along with an NCAA ban on championships in the state, helped turn the tide in the flag debate.
Now he brings a lot of excitement and enthusiasm to the Trojans’ running back room and coaching staff overall. Along with Hill, Glenn brought in former longtime Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson as its wide receivers coach earlier this year.
“The goal for me, maybe not for everybody, is to hire people smarter than I am to be able to give us the best opportunity to win and to grow young men.” Glenn said. “Being able to hire Chase and Kylin we feel like were home-run hires, especially Chase having head coaching experience and did it at a very, very successful rate at Starkville Academy. He’s the winningest coach in school history there, and for us to be able to get him was a steal. So having Chase and Kylin added to the staff we have already, we feel really good about the people we have in that building.”
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