April 26, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Seattle Seahawks selected Penn State defensive tackle Jordan Hill (Steelton) Friday in the third round of the 2013 National Football League Draft.
A 2012 second-team All-American and Nittany Lion co-captain, Hill was the No. 87 overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft. A total of 10 Penn State defensive linemen have been NFL Draft choices since 2003, including five in the first round.
Hill becomes the 31st Penn State football student-athlete to be drafted since 2006, including 15 in the first three rounds. A total of 330 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft, including 36 in the first round.
Hill joins running back Michael Robinson, the 2005 Big Ten Silver Football winner, as former Nittany Lions' on the Seahawks' roster.
A 2013 NFL Scouting Combine participant, Hill earned first-team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches, media panel, BTN.com and ESPN.com last year. In the 2013 Senior Bowl, Hill made three tackles, including 1.5 TFL for minus-six yards and 0.5 sacks. His TFL total was third-highest in the Senior Bowl.
A starter in 24 games the past two seasons, Hill played an instrumental role for a defense that ranked second in the Big Ten and No. 16 nationally in scoring defense at 19.1 ppg, holding six teams to 17 or fewer points. He was fourth on the team with 64 tackles, second with 4.5 sacks (minus-32) and tied for third with 8.5 tackles for loss this season. The former Steelton-Highspire High School standout also had one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honoree during the 2012 season (only DL to do so), his tackle total was No. 3 among Big Ten defensive linemen.
In his final game, Hill made a career-high 12 tackles, with two sacks (minus-11) and 3.0 TFL (minus-14) in the Nittany Lions' 24-21 overtime win over Wisconsin to earn the conference's weekly defensive honor. Hill recorded eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss (1 solo and two assisted) in the fourth quarter and OT alone.
Hill made 171 career tackles, recording 19.5 tackles for losses, 9.5 sacks, forcing two fumbles and recovering four fumbles.
There were 30 former Nittany Lions with NFL teams at the end of the 2012 regular season, placing Penn State in the top 15 nationally among schools in producing current NFL players.
Super Bowl XLVII marked the 42nd time in the Super Bowl's 47-game history that at least one Penn State alumnus was a member of one of the participating teams. All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman started for the San Francisco 49ers in the game and rookie linebacker Nate Stupar was a member of the 49ers' practice squad. Thirty-five former Nittany Lions have earned a total of 51 Super Bowl rings, most recently tackle Kareem McKenzie and defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy with the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants.