The New York Jets have welcomed a rookie in their NFL team. In a move that saw the departure of kicker Andrew Furney from the group, undrafted free agent Austin Hill enters the picture as the new receiver for the New York Jets.
The entrance of Hill in the team was announced via social media, with the New York Jets' Twitter handler providing a link to the story elaborating on the decision. Hill caught the attention of the New York team when he tried out for the rookie camp in May. Prior to signing on with the Jets, however, Hill was with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent as of May 12. Two weeks later, the Raiders decided to let him go.
In an effort to make room for the 6-foot-3, 212-pound receiver, the New York Jets opted to release Furney, another undrafted agent from Washington State. His entire summer was spent with the team, where he displayed a notable 51-yard game-winning field goal which led to the preseason win of the Jets over the Indianapolis Colts. However, Furney was cut in training camp. In December, he re-signed with the Jets as a future reserve. The move on Tuesday to release him to make room for Hill in the 90-man camp roster leaves Nick Folk as the only kicker in the team.
According to his NFL profile, Hill participated in a total of 14 games last year. Throughout 2014, he achieved a record of 49 catches for 635 yards and four touchdowns. Some experts believe that his performance has been sorely affected by the knee injury he suffered in 2013, which cost him an entire season. Prior to his injury, Hill had been widely recognized as an up and coming talent - with the now Jets player landing a place in the semifinal round of the Biletnikoff Award, a recognition granted to the top receive among college football teams. His achievements that led to his nomination to the said award include posting 1,364 yards receiving as a second selection for the All-Pac-12 in 2012. Although Hill clearly only started to shine in 2012, his career in football actually started two years prior when he redshirted at the University of Arizona in 2010.
Meanwhile, it appears that the New York Jets will see yet another shift in their practice and gameplays as Todd Bowles, who took over the head coach position from Rex Ryan, looks forward to shaking things up a bit. With the conclusion of the June minicamp, a couple of Jets players were asked by Metro on how they feel about their new head coach. According to the report, the prevailing attitude among the athletes is respect for all of Bowles' attributes. Highlighting his insistence on discipline and detailed planning compared to the "disorganized" way things were ran in previous practices by Ryan, the players point out that Bowles wants everyone to "commit [to] it - to take it seriously."
