Thanks to Twitter, the news of Austin Hill's fate with the Los Angeles Rams was well-known days before the latest episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks" aired.
Hill, of course, was one of the stars of the show, which goes behind the scenes of an NFL team during training camp, this season as it displayed the former Arizona receiver fighting for a roster spot and spending time with his daughter.
The Rams announced they had released Hill on Friday, the day before NFL teams were required to cut their rosters down from 75 players to 53, and Hill wasn't added to the Rams practice squad.
Knowing this, the dreaded moment loomed over the entire episode. (SPOILER WARNING: the rest of this post will go into detail of events involving Hill during the episode.)
At the beginning of the episode, HBO's cameras showed Rams receivers coach Mike Groh discussing Hill and receiver Paul McRoberts, who Hill was competing with for a roster spot.
Groh said "Austin had energy out there. The kid's sharp, he knows what to do, he's just little bit limited physically."
It makes sense — after a breakout sophomore campaign with the Wildcats in 2012, when he tallied 81 receptions for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns, Hill injured his knee and missed the 2013 season. When he returned in 2014, he wasn't the same, only amassing 49 catches for 635 yards and four touchdowns before going undrafted.
After showing footage from the Rams final pre-season game — Hill had one catch for eight yards against the Minnesota Vikings — it went to cut-down day. McRoberts was added to the practice squad, Hill was cut, and the show displayed Hill's final moments with Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher.
"I’ve been cut multiple times, and you always think its gonna be easier each time, but it’s not," Hill said on the show. "It’s a job i want to be able to have, but it’s hard to get in. I’m just hoping I'll get the chance to prove myself one day. I'll stay ready, I'll just stay ready."
At the end of the episode, it showed Hill playing some games with his daughter and girlfriend, and he talked some more about his journey.
"We don’t know what’s gonna happen next, and the limbo that we’ve been in the last few years is like, 'ok we got a call, I think we’re gonna be here'," Hill said on the show "Nope, back to limbo. Now we don’t now. You just have to find the balance, and it’s really hard to."
As of Tuesday, Hill hadn't been picked up by any other NFL teams.
