'Little' CB Hilton making big impact
PITTSBURGH — The words slipped out of Mike Mitchell’s mouth and the Pittsburgh Steelers safety couldn’t help but shake his head.
Asked to describe rookie defensive back Mike Hilton, Mitchell settled on “feisty” and “fiery.” And even as Mitchell said it, he recognized the trap he’d fallen into.
“I hate to use those words because you usually use them with small people,” Mitchell said. “Mike is a shorter guy, but his heart is super big and he puts it on display every Sunday for us and you can see it.”
Considering the impact the 5-foot-9, 184-pound Hilton is making for the NFL’s second-ranked defense, he’s kind of impossible to ignore. The 23-year-old had his first career sack and his first career interception in Pittsburgh’s surprisingly easy 26-9 romp over Baltimore last week.
The former practice squad player took down 6-foot-6 Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the third quarter and then found himself in the right spot to catch linebacker Ryan Shazier’s tipped pass in the fourth to turn back an ultimately toothless rally by the Ravens. He figures to see the field plenty on Sunday in passing downs when the Steelers (3-1) host Jacksonville (2-2).
“I didn’t play much last year. I didn’t play at all last year,” Hilton said. “So this whole game is new to me. I’m slowly getting comfortable and my confidence is getting hype.”
Not that it ever really wavered even as he wandered the fringes of the league after graduating from Mississippi in 2016. He spent a week on the practice squad with New England before being cut, continuing to work out believing the phone would ring even though the market for undersized cornerbacks isn’t exactly a thriving one.
“I’m not the first one that’s been through this, I know I wasn’t going to be the last,” Hilton said. “I’ve trained with guys that have been in the NFL, they broke it down to me, said it was just about being confident in your ability and confidence that there’s always going to be a shot out there.”
