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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University standout running back Wes Hills has accepted an invitation to play in the National Football League Players Association Collegiate Bowl at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California January 19, 2019.
 
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is considered one of the three major postseason showcase events for prospective NFL football players to showcase their talents in front of NFL personnel. Last year, more than 200 scouts, head coaches and general managers representing all 32 NFL teams attended the Collegiate Bowl.
 
A total of 19 players that appeared in last year's game were drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and 30 additional players made opening day NFL rosters this fall. More than 40 players that played in last year's game went on to receive invites to the NFL Combine.
 
The invitation to play in the Collegiate Bowl includes a week-long, all-expenses paid trip and luxury accommodations in the Los Angeles area, along with the opportunity to work with current and former NFL coaching staffs during a week of practice leading up to the game. Former NFL head coaches Mike Tice and Chuck Pagano will serve as the head coaches for this year's game. Their staffs will be rounded out with other former and current NFL personnel.
 
"We're thrilled for Wes," said SRU head coach Shawn Lutz. "We recruited him hard and told him if he chose Slippery Rock that he would have a great chance to lead our offense and attract a lot of attention from the NFL. He bought in to everything we did, loved his teammates and served as a vocal leader of our program. Every team in the league visited campus to see him this year and he just kept getting stronger as the year went on. He's an NFL caliber football player and we were very fortunate to have him on our roster this year. We wish him the best of luck moving forward."
 
Hills missed two full games and the majority of three games after leaving a week two game with an injury just two plays in. He returned in week five with limited touches to test the injury and returned to the starting lineup in week six. From then on, he topped 100 yards in seven different games, went over 150 yards in six games, ran for 200 or more yards in three games and totaled 1,476 rushing yards over nine weeks (164.0 yards per game). He finished up the year with an SRU single-season rushing record of 1,714 yards after topping 150 yards in all three NCAA playoff games, including rushing for 154 yards and averaging 8.2 yards per carry against the nation's second best rush defense that was allowing just 62 yards per game. His 1,714 rushing yards topped the former SRU single-season record of 1,601 yards that was set by LaMonte Coleman back in 1994.  
 
In addition to his punishing running abilities, Hills also showed good hands as a pass catcher out of the backfield, pulling down 28 passes for 193 yards. He finished the season with 1,907 all-purpose yards, the second most in a single-season in SRU history, and 17 touchdowns, the fifth most in a single-season at SRU.
 
A transfer from Delaware, Hills was named to first team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors and was named to second team All-Region honors this fall, with those missed games hurting his chances at earning higher honors.
 
He becomes the second Slippery Rock player in the last two years to receive an invite to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl after Marcus Martin was invited last year. Martin ultimately attended the East-West Shrine Game instead, where he ended up catching a touchdown pass from Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett.
 
More information regarding how to watch the Collegiate Bowl live will be shared through the Rock Athletics website and social media outlets closer to the game in January.
 
 
 
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