Renaldo Hill

Not to be confused with Reynaldo Hill.

Renaldo Hill

refer to caption Hill during his tenure with the Broncos.
No. 45, 21, 22, 24, 23
Position:	Defensive back
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1978-11-12) November 12, 1978
Place of birth:	Detroit, Michigan
Height:
Weight:
Career information
College:	Michigan State
NFL draft:	2001 / Round: 7 / Pick: 202
Career history
Arizona Cardinals (2001–2004) Oakland Raiders (2005) Miami Dolphins (2006–2008) Denver Broncos (2009–2010)
Career highlights and awards
Honorable mention All-Big Ten (1999) First-team All-Big Ten (2000)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 596 Sacks: 6.5 Interceptions: 19 Player stats at NFL.com

Renaldo Hill (born November 12, 1978) is a former American football defensive back who played for the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State. He is currently the Cornerbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

Early years

Hill attended Chadsey High School in Detroit, Michigan, where he was a four-year starter at defensive back. He was also named to the school’s academic honor roll on two occasions.

College career

Hill was a three-year letterman (1998–2000) for the Michigan State Spartans, the first two years of which he played under former head coach Nick Saban. Hill started all 35 games in which he played during that time at right cornerback, and concluded his career with 182 total tackles, 11 stops for loss, nine interceptions and 36 passes defensed.

Hill had a career-high five interceptions during his first season in 1998. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection the following year when he amassed 57 tackles, an interception and 13 passes defensed. His senior season in 2000, Hill was a second-team All-Big Ten performer in his when he posted 71 tackles, three interceptions and 11 passes defensed.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Hill was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round (202nd overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played in 14 games in his rookie season, including one start, and recorded 22 tackles, three passes defensed and a half-sack. He added five special teams tackles. He had five tackles and the first half-sack of his career on a five-yard sack of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Hill's first pro start came against the New York Giants on December 15. He was inactive for the final two games of the season with a hamstring injury.

In 2002 Hill appeared in 14 contests, including seven starts at cornerback, and missed two games with a foot injury. He posted 66 tackles, two interceptions, 10 passes defensed, a sack and two fumble recoveries on the year, while also contributing 11 stops on special teams. He collected a season-high 10 tackles against the San Diego Chargers when he came off bench in first quarter to replace an injured Duane Starks. Hill went on to start each of the next four games in Starks’ spot. In 16-13 win against the Carolina Panthers on October 6, he recovered a pair of Panthers fumbles - the first Cardinal to do that since Michael Bankston on October 17, 1993. Hill's first career interception came against the Dallas Cowboys on October 20 when he picked off a Quincy Carter pass in the end zone during Arizona’s 9-6 win. He recorded an eight-yard sack of Marc Bulger against the St. Louis Rams, which was the first full sack of his career. Hill also intercepted a Jeff Garcia pass in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers on December 21.

Hill started all 14 games in which he played at cornerback in 2003, posting 67 tackles, five interceptions for 119 yards in returns including a touchdown, seven passes defensed, two sacks and a forced fumble. His interception ranked second on the team behind only Dexter Jackson's six. Hill missed two games during the season with a sprained ankle.

During the season, Hill intercepted a pair of Marc Bulger passes in one game, including one returned 70 yards for a score. He also picked off Quincy Carter, Jon Kitna and Trent Dilfer during the season. His two sacks came against Bulger and Kitna.

Hill played in 13 games in 2004 with ten starts at cornerback, and was inactive for three contests in 2004. On the year, he collected 46 tackles, an interception, nine passes defensed, a sack and a forced fumble. His lone interception of the year occurred on October 24 against the Seattle Seahawks, as he picked off a Matt Hasselbeck pass in the Cardinals’ 25-17 victory. His only sack of the season came against then-Rams quarterback Chris Chandler.

Oakland Raiders

As an unrestricted free agent in 2005, Hill signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. The deal included a base salary of $565,000 and a $25,000 signing bonus. It was also heavily based on incentives, which could have allowed Hill to earn as much as $1.4 million.

Hill played in all 16 games during his lone season with the Raiders, opening three games at free safety and ten contests as the nickel cornerback behind Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha. He recorded 89 tackles, an interception and five passes defensed on the year, while also tallying three special teams stops. His only interception of the year came against the Cleveland Browns on December 18 when he snared a Charlie Frye pass.

Miami Dolphins

On March 16, 2006 Hill agreed to a three-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The contract was worth $6 million and included a $2 million signing bonus. The move reunited him with then-Dolphins head coach Nick Saban, who was the head coach at Michigan State during Hill's first two seasons with the Spartans.

Thanks in part to the contract holdout of rookie defensive back Jason Allen, Hill was able to win the starting free safety job before the regular season began. He went on to start all 16 games for the Dolphins in 2006 and finished third on the team (behind linebackers Zach Thomas and Channing Crowder) with 83 tackles. Hill also had two interceptions, which tied him with Jason Taylor for the team lead, and a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown. Hill picked off Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna and Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman during the season (both in wins by the Dolphins). He also returned a Chester Taylor fumble forced by Matt Roth 48 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 24-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

During training camp, Hill initially lost his job to recently signed free agent Chris Crocker. Eventually, though the secondary was exposed during the first two weeks particularly in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, giving up pass plays of 50 or more yards. In Week 3, Hill got the free safety job once again, and it paid huge dividends as the secondary play became more solid and it also helped Miami earn its first victory of the season against the Patriots. Renaldo Hill also proved to be solid in run support, finishing with 74 tackles. He nabbed three interceptions.

Denver Broncos

On February 27, 2009, Hill signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the Denver Broncos. The contract included $3 million guaranteed. Hill played in Denver for two seasons before being released on July 30, 2011.

Hill ended his career with a total of 596 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 19 interceptions.

Personal

Renaldo is the younger brother of Ray Hill, who also played at Michigan State and with the Dolphins as well (1998–2000). They are the third set of brothers to have played for the Dolphins, joining the Blackwoods (safety Glenn, 1979–87; safety Lyle, 1981–86) and the Ayanbadejos (fullback Obafemi, 2003; linebacker Brendon, 2003–04).