There have been some jersey number changes this offseason for a few Pittsburgh Steelers players and it sounds like you can now add cornerback Mike Hilton to the list as well.
According to a Thursday afternoon tweet from Hilton, he’s changing to No. 28 for the 2018 season. He wore No. 31 last season.
Hilton wore No. 28 during his first few seasons at Ole Miss but changed to No. 38 during his senior season after he was voted the Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner in 2015, That award is given annually to the player who best represents the spirit of Mullins, a former Ole Miss defensive back, who was paralyzed while making a tackle during a game in 1989 against Vanderbilt.
“Mike is a guy that we’ve got a lot of respect for and had a lot respect for,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last October. “We saw Mike play a lot in the evaluation of Senquez Golson, who we drafted out of Ole Miss. Mike is a unique guy. He wore 38 at Ole Miss, he wore the Chucky Mullins jersey. Anybody that knows anything about Ole Miss football, the guys that they recognize with that jersey, it speaks to their football character and the way that they play the game.
They honor those that they choose in that way. So if you follow college football, you understand that element of it. Anybody wearing 38 for Ole Miss is going to get your attention. That’s the first way he got our attention and we were able to continue to follow him and do business with him and he’s doing some good things.”
Hilton made the Steelers 53-man roster last season and was the team’s starting nickel cornerback. He registered 64 total tackles, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble during the 2017 regular season.
Hilton also wore No. 28 while he was playing football at Sandy Creek High School in Georgia.
