Isaac Hilton

Strengths: Art Shell, the Hall of Fame offensive tackle and former Raider head coach, watched Hampton’s 2002 spring game and came away very impressed with one player, an explosive defensive end who dominated the game. That player was Isaac Hilton, who stood out often last year thanks to his rare combination of speed and strength.

One of the top high school prospects in South Carolina, Hilton reportedly was recruited by several top college programs and at one point verbally committed to playing linebacker at North Carolina, but ended up enrolling at Hampton.

Hilton also competes on Hampton’s track team. He is a two-time Middle Eastern Athletic Conference shotput champion, and finished fourth in the decathlon at the conference meet.

Areas of Concern: Hilton has not faced top competition while playing for Division I-AA Hampton. He also does not consistently dominate at that level like a future NFL player should. He was a man among boys against Bowie State (a Division II program), when he had six sacks, and against Howard, when he recorded four more. In his other ten games, however, he had a total of only three sacks. Florida A&M senior left tackle Shedrick Moten nearly shut Hilton out (he made one tackle) last year, and Moten was not even in an NFL training camp this summer.

Hilton plays as a 4-3 end at Hampton, and it remains to be seen is fluid enough to fulfill the coverage responsibilities of a 3-4 outside linebacker.

How Would He Look in Steel Blue? Hilton has the raw skills to become a great pass rushing outside linebacker in the Texans’ scheme, but he is by no means a sure thing, and it is a big jump from the Middle Eastern Athletic Conference to the AFC South. Small school tweeners have been hit and miss in the draft, so Hilton needs to show that he’s more like Central State of Ohio’s Hugh Douglas than Alcorn State’s John Thierry.

(profile written by Warren DeLuca)

Isaac Hilton’s 2002 Stats G TCK TFL SACK FF FR INT 12 78 31 13.0 1 1 0 Isaac Hilton Return to The War Room

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