Jeremy Hill has never been one to shy away from contact. 
Throughout his time in an LSU uniform, the bruising back has preferred to plow straight through any defenders in his way instead of trying to run around or away from them.  
So when it came time to address his off-the-field troubles before May’s NFL draft, it’s only natural Hill elected to take the questions head on. 
Before February’s NFL Combine, Hill sent a package to each of the NFL’s 32 teams detailing his two arrests. Once he got to Indianapolis, he spent most of his time meeting with team executives, saying he wanted to give them a chance to get to know the real him.  
“I got a chance to tell my side of the story and give them all the facts,” Hill said. “They kind of took it and were OK with it, and we just went forward from there to talking about football. You really can’t change the past. It’s there and it’s best to just move forward from now.” 
As far as Hill can tell, the move worked. Since the combine, Hill said he’s actually been surprised by how little scouts and general managers have asked about the arrests. 

“I didn’t get drilled about it,” Hill said. “Once I told them what happened, that was it.” 
With the page turned and his personal troubles behind him, Hill has been able to turn his focus to what he does best — football.
Hill posted times of 4.52 seconds and 4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash at LSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday, both of which were more than a tenth of a second faster than the time he ran at the combine. He also managed to add two inches to his vertical jump. 
He expressed some disappointment in his 40 times and slipped when going through agility drills — an issue he chalked up to not changing out of his track shoes — but backed by a 1,400 yard campaign that earned him First Team All-Southeastern Conference honors, Hill deemed the day a success. 
“I just wanted to improve on my combine,” Hill said. “I think my game film speaks for itself. I just wanted to improve on the things I did at the combine, and I think I did that, so I’m happy. It wasn’t perfect, but I improved so I can build on that and keep getting better.” 
From here, Hill plans to continue staying busy between training and meeting with teams until next month’s draft. He wouldn’t get into specifics, but Hill said he’s got visits and workouts lined up with multiple teams. 
While the workout was productive, the biggest boost to Hill’s draft stock Wednesday may have been the ringing endorsement of his former boss — LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. 
“Go around the NFL and count the number of backs who play all three downs in short yardage situations and inside the 3-yard line. You’re not going to find many,” Cameron said. “[Hill] is an every-down back, he’s an ascending player and he’s off-the-charts smart. He is LaDainian Tomlinson smart.”  
Cameron is a former NFL head coach with years of experience coaching offense around the league, and Hill understands how much weight his coach’s words hold at the next level. 
“My football IQ was pretty high before Coach Cam got here, but once he got here, it’s been elevated to a whole new level,” Hill said. “Coach Cam has a lot of respect about the NFL, so it’s definitely huge for me to get that praise from him. I’m going to take it and continue to do the things he’s taught me to do.”

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Richard Redmann

LSU sophomore running back Jeremy Hill (33) participates in the running back drill on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 in the LSU Indoor Practice Facility for LSU Pro Day.