{"id":732663,"date":"2026-02-06T05:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/732663\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T05:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:11:41","slug":"lsu-wide-receiver-makes-history-during-pre-nfl-draft-grind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/732663\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU wide receiver makes history during pre NFL Draft grind"},"content":{"rendered":"

LSU wide receiver makes history during pre NFL Draft grind<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chris Hilton Jr. did not just participate in the pre NFL Draft process. He reshaped it.<\/p>\n

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As we get closer to April\u2019s NFL Draft, Hilton has made history by becoming the first known college football player to compete in four all-star games. This is an unprecedented stretch that speaks to durability, belief, and a refusal to wait for opportunity.<\/p>\n

From the Hula Bowl to the American Bowl and finishing with the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowls, Hilton treated every invitation as a fresh audition. He arrived early, sometimes short on sleep, and still found ways to create separation, make plays late in practice, and stay engaged when timing was not perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really been a long journey for me,\u201d Hilton told Champside.<\/a> \u201cFrom this past season up to now that\u2019s just a testament to my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

More:\u00a0Shedeur Sanders gives revealing interview ahead of Super Bowl<\/a><\/p>\n

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Four all star games mean weeks of practices, travel, and nonstop evaluation. Hilton insists preparation allowed him to handle the workload without wearing down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly bro I\u2019m 100% healthy. I\u2019m fine,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the work I put into my body. Hot tub cold tub cryo whenever I can. Every bowl game I\u2019ve been to I find a cryo place just to hop in there for three minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than viewing the stretch as wear and tear, Hilton framed it as a reset.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically like a new season,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019m approaching it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mindset was forged during a challenging final season at LSU Tigers<\/a>, when opportunities did not always align with expectations. Hilton\u2019s response never changed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI always tell myself to show up,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s the hardest part of the battle. The work was never conditional.\u201d<\/p>\n

More:Deion Sanders\u2019 defensive staff shifts as more uncertainty lingers<\/a><\/p>\n

Scouts will eventually narrow the evaluation to numbers, especially the 40 yard dash. Hilton has previously posted a laser timed 4.31 in training<\/a> and believes his biggest gains come in the details.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally just working on my first couple of steps,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you really thrive at.\u201d<\/p>\n

You also have to wonder just how fast this could get. A 4.31 with tired legs naturally raises the question of whether a number in the 4.2s is obtainable. If everything lines up, it is fair to ask whether Hilton could at least flirt with the territory occupied by Xavier Worthy, whose record setting 4.21 at the 2024 NFL Combine reset expectations for pure speed. For a player who has already made history by showing up four times when most prospects choose one, chasing something rare again would feel fitting.<\/p>\n

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Mock:\u00a0NFL mock draft highlights Utah\u2019s growing strength in the trenches<\/a><\/p>\n

The belief in Hilton is not limited to his own voice. Former LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier saw the talent firsthand and believes this stretch is finally allowing Hilton to display it.<\/p>\n

\u201cChris is an unbelievable player,\u201d Nussmeier told me at the Senior Bowl.<\/a> \u201cWe had so many wideouts this year. It was tough to get everybody the ball and let everybody showcase their talent but Chris is a special player. I\u2019m happy for him and glad he was able to show people what he can do. He has a bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hilton, that validation matters. But the message of the last few weeks is already clear. Availability. Resilience. Faith. And a willingness to keep showing up.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m happy,\u201d Hilton said. \u201cI\u2019m having fun playing the game that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four all-star games later, Hilton did more than chase exposure. He made history and made sure the league knows exactly how he is doing.<\/p>\n

More sports news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LSU wide receiver makes history during pre NFL Draft grind originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":732664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[105898,7,1802,7211,6,15,17,1080],"class_list":{"0":"post-732663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-chris-hilton","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-garrett-nussmeier","11":"tag-lsu-tigers","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nfl-draft","14":"tag-shedeur-sanders","15":"tag-xavier-worthy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116021973371050451","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/732664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}