Taking care of 300 kids every day may not be your idea of heaven, but these days Doug Hillis admits, “It’s pretty easy waking up and going to work in the morning.”
Hillis, who runs a pair of day-care centers in Arkansas with his wife, Carrie, is in this very happy place because of his son Peyton, who of late has provided a gift that just keeps on giving. A seventh-round pick of the Broncos, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound unheralded rookie has barreled out of nowhere to become a force.
Last Sunday against the Jets, Peyton Hillis rushed for 129 yards, a Denver season high that he called a birthday present to his father. This Sunday, when the Broncos face the Kansas City Chiefs in a home game, Doug and Carrie are expected to be in the stands for the first time cheering on their son as an NFL player, reveling in his unexpected success.
“He’s a starting running back in the NFL; that was his dream and to see him living it out is like a dream for me, too, because very few people get to do that,” Doug Hillis said. “We’re hearing from kinfolk we haven’t heard from in years. It’s just meant so much.
“The good Lord certainly works in some very mysterious ways. He may get cut next year, but this season has been a pleasure.”
Hillis was thrust into the spotlight after a series of injuries knocked out four running backs in front of him. His run to daylight isn’t the first time Dame Good Fortune waded through some serious muck before alighting upon his shoulders.
But that’s the thing about gifts — sometimes the best ones are the ones that are the hardest to get.
Lost in the shuffle
There was a time when Peyton Hillis was actually the star of the show, when football, Doug said, “came almost too easy.” In high school in Conway, about 30 miles north of Little Rock, Hillis rushed for 2,631 yards and 29 touchdowns. He continued to pile up the numbers even when he went to Arkansas and began playing against Southeastern Conference competition.
Hillis scored touchdowns in his first four collegiate games and finished his first season with eight. However, the next season, Felix Jones came to Fayetteville, as did Darren McFadden, a local high school star who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting as a sophomore and a junior.
With both Jones and McFadden looming as first-round NFL draft picks, that left the question of what Arkansas coaches should do with Hillis, a punishing runner and blocker. Hillis realized he could get on the field if he switched from tailback to fullback. Even though Dad said the move made his son “nothing more than a glorified pulling guard,” Peyton volunteered.
It wouldn’t be the last time he would do so, either.
“I’ve always been the guy, the one who’s asked to play different positions, and I’ve always said I could do it,” Hillis said. “I knew NFL teams would like it. Playing running back, slot back, tight end, I knew it would help me in the long run.”
After an injury to a Razorbacks starter his senior year, Hillis even moved to wide receiver for a time. And while his versatility certainly made him more valuable to the Razorbacks, Hillis knew he was running the risk of losing his identity as a back.
While Peyton struggled finding a “stable” position, his father thought Peyton’s dreams of playing in the NFL were being snuffed out. At times, Hillis admits to wondering the same thing. Even after the Broncos selected him as a fullback in the seventh round, the 22-year-old wondered if his career would be over before it actually began.
“There was a point when I didn’t think I’d get drafted, and even through mini-camp, I’d be going, ‘I’m gonna get cut tomorrow,’ ” Hillis said.
Asked where he stood on the tailback depth chart at the start of training camp, Hillis admitted, “Not in the top 10.” Actually, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said, “he was never on the depth chart.”
However, as back after back went down with injuries, from Anthony Alridge and Ryan Torain in training camp, to Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Selvin Young and Torain again during the regular season, Hillis, as at Arkansas, was given an opportunity to help by stepping into an unfamiliar position.
It didn’t take long for the coaches to realize Hillis was the type of player who could step into a major role.
“You never know,” Shanahan said. “(Late draft picks) really don’t get out there unless there are injuries. How did Terrell Davis get his opportunity, or Shannon Sharpe?
“You really don’t know. Guys go down and these guys step up and show they can play in the NFL and the game is not too big for them. They make some plays, or they go the other direction and you say, ‘Hey, we need to look for more depth at that position because this guy can’t play at this time.’ ”
Young due back soon
Now that he’s here, there’s still a question of where Hillis is going. Young, who is falling a tad short of his announced goal of 2,000 rushing yards, will be returning soon. And the firm of Alridge/Hall/Pittman & Torain all will get a shot when healthy next season, as well as anyone the Broncos might draft.
All of which could mean that Hillis, whether by raising his hand once again or via a decree from Shanahan, who has already likened Hillis to Dallas Clark, the Indianapolis Colts’ Pro Bowl tight end/H-back, could be in for another position switch.
Hillis said he’s fine with whatever happens, but his father suspects something different.
While pointing out all the backs whom his son does not resemble in running style — Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson, to name a couple — Doug Hillis points out that Peyton is doing well, even outplaying McFadden and Jones, which “never crossed my mind,” he said.
“But Peyton has all the confidence in the world. We were talking on the phone not too long ago, and I said something about Young getting ready to come back and he (Peyton) may have to go back to fullback. There was this long, dead silence on the other end, and I started thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think he’s ready to give up tailback just yet.’ ”
Unless it’s for something even better. Amid all the talk about playing fullback or tailback or H-back, Peyton was asked if there was somewhere he really wanted to play.
“Quarterback,” he said with the smile of someone envisioning the Broncos’ version of the Wildcat formation used at Arkansas with McFadden as quarterback.
“I don’t always know where it’s goin’, but I can throw it,” he said.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
