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Aaron Hill is living the dream with hometown Rams
By Nate Latsch
http://msn.foxsports.com/midwest/st...is-living-the-dream-with-hometown-rams-062414
Aaron Hill uses the word "surreal" to describe his journey.
It's hard to believe, really.
The St. Louis native has already beaten long odds to get here, going from three-sport standout at nearby Lutheran High School in St. Charles to walk-on linebacker at the University of Minnesota. Now he's trying to do it all over again as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Rams.
"It's been crazy," Hill says. "It's still sort of surreal that I've come this far. But it's a great feeling being able to come back home. This is where it all started for me, in the pee-wee league when I started in fourth grade. So playing in St. Louis then and then now, going to Minnesota and then coming right back home, it's a great feeling. I definitely enjoy coming out here everyday, just to play another day."
That should be the motto for undrafted rookie free agents.
Just to play another day.
It fits for college walk-ons, too.
But here is Hill, 23, taking reps with his hometown St. Louis Rams just like Chris Long and James Laurinaitis, guys he's been watching over the years who have now become his teammates.
"It's crazy," Hill says. "My freshman year at Minnesota, that was James' rookie year and he came and trained at our facility. I actually talked to him in the locker room about how things were and how things were going, because it was that summer, and it's crazy how this is year six for him and five years later for me and we're teammates, on the same team, in the same locker room. That's surreal. These are the guys you've been watching on TV and now you're at the top of the food chain. It's crazy in that way too."
Crazy.
And surreal.
The 6-foot-2, 231-pounder is a product of hard work and determination, working his way from walk-on to redshirt to starting linebacker with the Golden Gophers, a guy Minnesota coach Jerry Kill described as a leader of the defense and strong leader of the team going into his senior season last fall.
The Rams brought Hill in for a workout before the draft and then, minutes after the draft concluded, worked out an undrafted rookie free agent deal with him.
"I came here for a local workout in late April," Hill says. "They told me just to wait for the draft and see how things happens. Then draft day, it was on that Saturday, just waited around to see what was going to happen. They had a lot of picks in the seventh round. So just sort of waiting to see what unraveled there. My agent called me like literally one or two minutes after the draft and said the Rams wanted to pick me up as an undrafted free agent. As soon as he told me that I was like, let's go. I was ready."
Yes he was.
It was a dream come true for the St. Louis native, who still remembers being at a Super Bowl party at his mother's church when the Rams beat Jeff Fisher's Tennessee Titans back in 2000.
Hill was nine then.
"You can't forget that," he says. "Mike Jones."
Jones, who made the famous game-clinch tackle of Kevin Dyson at the 1 yard line, was also an undrafted rookie free agent once upon a time. He went on to play in 183 career games in the NFL with the Raiders, Rams and Steelers.
Now Hill is trying to win a roster spot with the Rams, just like Ray Ray Armstrong and Daren Bates did a year ago. Of course, it will not be easy.
The Rams didn't draft any linebackers this year, but he'll still face stiff competition for one of the back-up spots, going against guys like Armstrong and Bates who have established themselves as special-teams contributors.
But Hill knows he has an opportunity here and he's trying to make the most of it.
"I feel like anywhere you go, if you get an opportunity you just have to take advantage of it, no matter who you are going against," he says.
Just to play another day.
Makes sense.
Hill will get another chance to do that when the Rams begin training camp in late July. His story, just to get to this point, is a remarkable one.
"No dream is too big," Hill says. "You just have to keep working hard. For me, it's taking the underdog approach to everything. Underdog is a big word that we used, especially going into Minnesota and then coming out. Every day you're trying to prove something. Every day is an interview and you're trying to put your stamp on everything that you do. I sort of take that approach and I just tell people just keep working hard and just keep doing what you're doing and everything will pay off in the end."
By Nate Latsch
http://msn.foxsports.com/midwest/st...is-living-the-dream-with-hometown-rams-062414
Aaron Hill uses the word "surreal" to describe his journey.
It's hard to believe, really.
The St. Louis native has already beaten long odds to get here, going from three-sport standout at nearby Lutheran High School in St. Charles to walk-on linebacker at the University of Minnesota. Now he's trying to do it all over again as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Rams.
"It's been crazy," Hill says. "It's still sort of surreal that I've come this far. But it's a great feeling being able to come back home. This is where it all started for me, in the pee-wee league when I started in fourth grade. So playing in St. Louis then and then now, going to Minnesota and then coming right back home, it's a great feeling. I definitely enjoy coming out here everyday, just to play another day."
That should be the motto for undrafted rookie free agents.
Just to play another day.
It fits for college walk-ons, too.
But here is Hill, 23, taking reps with his hometown St. Louis Rams just like Chris Long and James Laurinaitis, guys he's been watching over the years who have now become his teammates.
"It's crazy," Hill says. "My freshman year at Minnesota, that was James' rookie year and he came and trained at our facility. I actually talked to him in the locker room about how things were and how things were going, because it was that summer, and it's crazy how this is year six for him and five years later for me and we're teammates, on the same team, in the same locker room. That's surreal. These are the guys you've been watching on TV and now you're at the top of the food chain. It's crazy in that way too."
Crazy.
And surreal.
The 6-foot-2, 231-pounder is a product of hard work and determination, working his way from walk-on to redshirt to starting linebacker with the Golden Gophers, a guy Minnesota coach Jerry Kill described as a leader of the defense and strong leader of the team going into his senior season last fall.
The Rams brought Hill in for a workout before the draft and then, minutes after the draft concluded, worked out an undrafted rookie free agent deal with him.
"I came here for a local workout in late April," Hill says. "They told me just to wait for the draft and see how things happens. Then draft day, it was on that Saturday, just waited around to see what was going to happen. They had a lot of picks in the seventh round. So just sort of waiting to see what unraveled there. My agent called me like literally one or two minutes after the draft and said the Rams wanted to pick me up as an undrafted free agent. As soon as he told me that I was like, let's go. I was ready."
Yes he was.
It was a dream come true for the St. Louis native, who still remembers being at a Super Bowl party at his mother's church when the Rams beat Jeff Fisher's Tennessee Titans back in 2000.
Hill was nine then.
"You can't forget that," he says. "Mike Jones."
Jones, who made the famous game-clinch tackle of Kevin Dyson at the 1 yard line, was also an undrafted rookie free agent once upon a time. He went on to play in 183 career games in the NFL with the Raiders, Rams and Steelers.
Now Hill is trying to win a roster spot with the Rams, just like Ray Ray Armstrong and Daren Bates did a year ago. Of course, it will not be easy.
The Rams didn't draft any linebackers this year, but he'll still face stiff competition for one of the back-up spots, going against guys like Armstrong and Bates who have established themselves as special-teams contributors.
But Hill knows he has an opportunity here and he's trying to make the most of it.
"I feel like anywhere you go, if you get an opportunity you just have to take advantage of it, no matter who you are going against," he says.
Just to play another day.
Makes sense.
Hill will get another chance to do that when the Rams begin training camp in late July. His story, just to get to this point, is a remarkable one.
"No dream is too big," Hill says. "You just have to keep working hard. For me, it's taking the underdog approach to everything. Underdog is a big word that we used, especially going into Minnesota and then coming out. Every day you're trying to prove something. Every day is an interview and you're trying to put your stamp on everything that you do. I sort of take that approach and I just tell people just keep working hard and just keep doing what you're doing and everything will pay off in the end."
