Austin Hill has been well known around Tucson since his playing days.
He became better known around college football in 2014 after catching a Hail Mary pass from Anu Solomon that completed an improbable comeback victory against California at Arizona Stadium. The play, dubbed the “Hill Mary,” made him notable.
“Hard Knocks” made him famous.
Hill is now perhaps best known for his role on HBO’s popular series, which chronicles an NFL team each season during training camp. This season, it showed the Los Angeles Rams, who signed Hill just before the preseason began, along with his former teammate at Arizona in receiver David Richards.
Every year, there’s at least one player’s storyline who captures the nation’s attention, usually a player trying to make the team or with an interesting family situation. This year, it was Hill.
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“It was fun,” Hill told the Star in a phone interview. “At first, I didn’t really like doing it. I’m not that kind of person. I was there to try and make the team and make a difference. I wasn’t there to be a Hollywood star. That wasn’t my purpose. It just kind of turned into that.”
Hill received extensive screen time as HBO showed him fighting for a roster spot and making it past first cuts with the Rams, but really Hill captured the admiration of many viewers on social media because of the way it showed Hill’s dynamic with his daughter, Rielyn, and girlfriend, Valery. Footage showed Rielyn running around the Rams’ practice field with her father and spending time away from the facilities.
Hill said that “it wasn’t distracting” him from learning the playbook or practicing so he didn’t mind the attention.
“It was just fun to, kind of like, show America my little family,” Hill said. “It was a fun experience. My daughter loved it.”
Ultimately, though, Hill wasn’t able to accomplish what he wanted. The Rams cut Hill after he caught two passes for 16 yards in three games. He has yet to catch on with another team. Now, Hill spends time with his family, works out and waits for a call.
“It’s just tough,” Hill said. “I didn’t think it was going to go the way it did. But it is what it is. You never know what these guys are thinking, what the coaches are thinking, you never understand the NFL. Once you think you understand it, it’ll come back and bite you.”
Hill’s final season at the UA came in 2014, but it feels like longer than that. He’s had stints with the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and the Rams. He’s just never made it onto an active roster.
It was tough watching the final episodes of “Hard Knocks” in which Hill receives the news from Rams coach Jeff Fisher that he was being released.
“I feel like I’ve been out of Arizona for five years,” Hill said. “It really does feel like that. I’m not exaggerating. It’s just tough mentally. Physically, I feel just like I did at Arizona, but mentally it’s just grueling. So many ups and downs. You’re super happy you got signed and then a week later, it’s ‘we’re gonna cut you, we’re gonna let you go.’”
Hill was an all-conference second-team selection in 2012 after amassing 81 catches for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns and leading the Wildcats in a wild comeback New Mexico Bowl victory. (That game remains his favorite Arizona memory, even beyond the “Hill Mary” catch). Hill missed the next season with a torn ACL and was never the same, only accounting for 49 catches, 635 yards and four touchdowns as a senior in 2014. He went undrafted in 2015, and has been trying to catch on ever since.
That’s all why Hill has yet to return to Tucson to visit — he doesn’t want to come back until he’s accomplished something.
“It’s hard because if I go back I’m pretty sure everyone will want to know something about where I’m at,” Hill said. “I’m trying to go back with something positive. I’m trying. I definitely want to go back, but make sure I’m making a positive name and representing the U of A proudly.”
Regardless, Hill made a name for himself on the same network that made “Game of Thrones,” “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” famous. That’s something Hill never expected. It helped spur his daughter into social media fame, too.
Rielyn hasn’t noticed.
“She doesn’t even know what’s going on,” Hill said, laughing. “She’s just like, ‘Why are the cameras following us?’ It was fun for her. She enjoyed it. She didn’t really care. I don’t even think she noticed any of the cameras and stuff when she was running on the field. Whether that be at Arizona or anywhere.
“It didn’t matter, she likes to run on the field with me and play football. That’s how she is.”
