Ronnie Keith Ryan Hillman (September 14, 1991 – December 21, 2022) was an American football running back. He played college football at San Diego State. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos, in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, with whom he won Super Bowl 50 with, and later played for the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys.

Contents

1 Early years

2 College career

2.1 Freshman season

2.2 Sophomore season

2.3 Statistics

3 Professional career

3.1 Denver Broncos

3.1.1 2013 season

3.1.2 2014 season

3.1.3 2015 season

3.1.4 2016 season

3.2 Minnesota Vikings

3.3 San Diego Chargers

3.4 Dallas Cowboys

3.5 Statistics

4 Health and death

5 References

6 External links

Early years

Hillman is from Compton, California. He has four brothers and one sister. During his early years, Hillman highlighted his talents while attending and made his presence known at La Habra High School, lettering in basketball, football, and track. In football, he played as a running back. In 2007, he was named Southwest Division offensive player of the year after helping lead the Highlanders to the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division championship crown in a season where he amassed 1,615 yards and 20 touchdowns. As a senior in 2008, he was selected MVP of the Freeway League as he accounted for 2,104 yards all-purpose yards (1,251 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns) and 27 total touchdowns all-purpose yards and led the Highlanders to a 12-2 record and to the 2008 CIF Southern Section Southwest Division title after going 5-0 in the Freeway League and winning the 2008 Freeway League championship. His performance earned him first-team All-County honors and by the Orange County Register. Hillman was also a sprinter on the track & field team, where he was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay squad and competed in the 100 100-meter dash with a personal-best of 10.7 seconds.

Following his senior season, Hillman was tabbed as a three-star recruit by most recruiting analysts and received scholarship offers from Colorado State, San Diego State, and Fresno State. After a long gated period of time, Hillman decided to veer his talents locally for the Aztecs.

College career

Hillman sat out the 2009 season while SDSU sorted out administrative issues involving his admission. This redshirt year did not count towards Hillman's eligibility.

Freshman season

As a freshman for the 2010 San Diego State Aztecs football team, Hillman gained 1,532 yards and scored 17 rushing touchdowns. On September 18, 2010, he gained 228 rushing yards against Missouri in his third college football game.

Sophomore season

As a sophomore in 2011, Hillman rushed for 1,478 yards and 15 touchdowns during the 2011 regular season. He ranked fourth among all players in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of 5.5 rushing yards per carry. He ranked sixth in total rushing yards. He gained over 100 rushing yards in eight of San Diego State's 12 games in 2011. On September 17, 2011, the San Diego State Aztecs faced the 2-0 undefeated Washington State Cougars at Qualcomm Stadium. Hillman scored on four touchdown runs, leading the Aztecs to a 42-24 victory and their first 3-0 Start in 30 Years. On October 29, 2011, he gained a season-high 224 yards against Wyoming for 2 touchdowns, including a 99-yard touchdown run.

On January 4, 2012, Hillman announced that he hired an agent and would be entering the 2012 NFL Draft.

Statistics

Fourth quarter 1 yard touchdown run

Season

Rushing

Receiving

Att

Yards

Avg

Yds/G

TD

Rec

Yards

Avg

TD

2010

262

1,532

5.8

117.8

17

9

68

7.6

1

2011

311

1,711

5.5

131.6

19

24

270

11.3

1

NCAA career totals

573

3,243

5.7

124.7

36

33

338

10.2

2

Professional career

External video Hillman performing at the 2012 NFL Combine

Pre-draft measurables

Height

Weight

Arm length

Hand span

40-yard dash

10-yard split

20-yard split

Vertical jump

Bench press

200 lb(91 kg)

30 in(0.76 m)

8+1⁄2 in(0.22 m)

4.45 s

1.58 s

2.62 s

37.0 in(0.94 m)

17 reps

All values from NFL Combine

Denver Broncos

Hillman was drafted in the third round with the 67th overall pick by the Denver Broncos, signing a 4-year deal with the team. In week 11 against the Carolina Panthers, Hillman scored his first career touchdown on a 5-yard run.

2013 season

Hillman earned the starting job in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens where he had 4 carries for 15 yards and 2 catches for 27 yards. On September 23, he had a rushing touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. On October 20 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos were down by 9 on the Colts' 2 yard line and needed the touchdown to stay alive. Hillman took the carry and fumbled as the Colts recovered. The Broncos reached Super Bowl XLVIII, but lost 43-8 to the Seattle Seahawks. Hillman was inactive for the Super Bowl.

2014 season

After teammate Montee Ball went down with a groin injury, Hillman was announced the starter. In his first career start, Hillman had 100 yards rushing in a 31-17 win over the New York Jets. He would have 74 yards and two touchdowns (from 37 yards and 1-yard out) in a 42-17 rout over the San Francisco 49ers.

2015 season

Hillman had the most productive season of his career in 2015, rushing for 863 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. In week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, Hillman ran for a 72-yard touchdown, the longest run of the 2015 NFL season at that point. The Broncos finished the season 12-4 and earned the AFC's #1 seed. The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round and the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl. On February 7, 2016, Hillman was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10. Hillman had five carries for no yards in Super Bowl 50 with his longest rush in the game being for three yards.

2016 season

On April 18, 2016, Hillman re-signed with the Broncos on a one-year, $2 million contract. On September 3, 2016, Hillman was released by the Broncos.

Minnesota Vikings

On September 21, 2016, Hillman was signed by the Minnesota Vikings after Adrian Peterson suffered an injury in Week 2. He was released by the Vikings on November 21, 2016.

San Diego Chargers

On November 22, 2016, Hillman was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Chargers.

Dallas Cowboys

On July 27, 2017, Hillman was signed by the Dallas Cowboys. On September 2, 2017, Hillman was released by the Cowboys.

Statistics

Year

Team

Games

Rushing

Receiving

Fumbles

G

GS

Att

Yds

Avg

TD

Lng

Rec

Yds

Avg

TD

Lng

Fum

Lost

2012

DEN

14

0

85

330

3.9

1

31

10

62

6.2

0

29

2

1

2013

DEN

10

0

55

218

4.0

1

19

12

119

9.9

0

19

2

1

2014

DEN

8

4

106

434

4.1

3

37

21

139

6.6

1

16

1

0

2015

DEN

16

10

207

863

4.2

7

72

24

111

4.6

0

14

2

1

2016

MIN

5

0

18

50

2.8

0

14

4

43

10.8

0

32

0

0

SD

3

1

23

81

3.5

0

17

3

50

16.7

0

21

0

0

Career

56

15

494

1,976

4.0

12

72

74

524

9.9

1

32

8

3

Health and death

Hillman was diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, in August 2022. The cancer treatments were unsuccessful, and on December 20, 2022, it was reported that he had entered hospice care for liver cancer as well as pneumonia in December. He died the following day at the age of 31.