Peyton Hillis life and biography

Born to Doug and Carrie Hillis of Conway, Arkansas on January 21, 1986 Hillis became the nations top fullback recruit coming out of Conway High School.
Hillis attended college at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville from 2004–2008, majoring in Sociology. As a true freshman, Hillis gained 240 yards rushing, 97 yards receiving, and scored 8 touchdowns, ranking 4th in the SEC in total touchdowns and tying Georgia's Thomas Brown for most touchdowns scored by a SEC freshman that year.
His sophomore year, Hillis accounted for 947 all-purpose yards (including more than 200 in kick-off and punt returns) and seven touchdowns while also serving as a blocker for up-and-coming star running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.
At the start of the 2008 season, Hillis was listed as the Broncos' starting fullback. He played in his first NFL regular season game on September 8, 2008, gaining 14 yards on three rushing attempts and four yards on one reception as part of a 41–14 Broncos road victory over the Oakland Raiders. Later in the season, he recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown in a 26–17 Broncos home loss to the Miami Dolphins on November 2, 2008.
Despite rising to the starting fullback position and becoming the leading rusher the previous year, Hillis had only 54 yards on 13 carries in the 2009 season. As the Broncos offense collapsed late-season and Hillis still saw no significant playtime, fans began speculating about a disagreement between Hillis and McDaniels as had been the case with other Shanahan carry-overs.
Racial discrimination has also been mentioned as a potential cause as Hillis is one of a very limited number of white running backs in the NFL. In a post-season interview, Hillis expressed disappointment over his playtime on the season, but remained tight-lipped about the controversy, maintaining that conversations between him and McDaniels were "friendly".

Hillis' arrival in Cleveland was met with anticipation after the results of his active stint in Denver during the 2008 season.[ During the 2010 preseason, the Browns distributed snaps evenly between Hillis, Jerome Harrison, James Davis, Chris Jennings, and Montario Hardesty (upon returning from injury). Hillis' best pre-season rushing game came in Week 2 against the Rams when, getting the majority of the snaps, Hillis ran for 51 yards on 12 carries (4.3 ypc).

As the regular season began, Hillis' start in Cleveland began much the same way as it did in Denver, listed down the depth chart at both tight end and fullback. Also like his start in Denver, early season injuries to Harrison and Davis thrust Hillis into the starting spot for the Week 3 game versus the Baltimore Ravens. The result was a 144 yard (6.5 ypc) romp against the Ravens' staunch rushing defense, which allowed just 3.4 yards per carry in the 2009 season. Hillis also added 36 yards on 7 receptions for a total of 180 all-purpose yards. The next week, Hillis again ran for over 100 yards at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, leading the Browns to their first victory in the 2010 regular season. A thigh injury in practice limited Hillis in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons, though Hillis did add a 19-yard reception for a touchdown, making him the first Browns player since Greg Pruitt to record touchdowns in five consecutive games, though Pruitt's came all through rushing.
Coming off a bye week in Week 8, Hillis set career marks in both rushing and all-purpose yards against the New England Patriots in Week 9, finishing the game with 184 rushing yards (6.5 ypc) and 220 yards of total offense.
Due to his breakout season, Peyton Hillis was the Browns finalist in the Madden NFL 12 cover vote. After upsetting Ray Rice, Matt Ryan, and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, he advanced to the finals where he faced off against Michael Vick. On April 27, 2011, Hillis was announced as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 12, beating out Vick with 66 percent of the vote.

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