University of Wyoming Athletics

UW This Season: Brian Hill will be one of the nation’s top returning running backs in 2016. He was one of 11 semifinalists for the 2015 Doak Walker Award, honoring the nation’s premier college running back, and was the only player from a non-Power Five conference to be named a semifinalist last season. Hill will enter his junior season ranked fifth in career rushing yards at UW, with 2,427 career rushing yards. He needs only 536 more yards to tie former Cowboy Devin Moore for the Wyoming career mark of 2,963 rushing yards.

2015: Hill proved to be one of the most effective running backs in the nation last season. He led the Mountain West Conference in average yards rushing per game (135.9) and ranked second in total rushing yards (1,631). He ranked No. 8 in the nation in average yards rushing and No. 9 in total rushing yards. His 1,631 rushing yards and 135.9 yards per game set new UW single-season rushing records, breaking the former records of 1,455 yards and 121.3 yards per game originally set by Ryan Christopherson in 1994. He rushed for 200 or more yards four times last season. Hill ran for a season-high 242 yards on 21 carries against Eastern Michigan. He rushed for 208 yards on 30 carries at Appalachian State, and had 232 yards on a career-high 35 carries with one touchdown against UNLV. His 35 carries was the most for a Cowboy since Wyoming joined the MW Conference. He rushed for 201 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown at Utah State.

2014: Hill appeared in all 12 games for the Cowboys, including four starts as a true freshman. He finished the season with 796 rushing yards on 145 carries with seven touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes out of the backfield for 204 yards. Hill ranked No. 12 in the MW and No. 87 in the NCAA in rushing yards per game (66.3) and was No. 7 in the MW and No. 44 in the nation in rushing yards per carry (5.49). He was named the Football Bowl Subdivision National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation after his record-breaking contest at Fresno State. Against the Bulldogs, Hill became only the fifth player in NCAA history to rush for at least 200 yards and have at least 100 yards receiving in a single game. Hill’s 387 all-purpose yards was the best single-game performance in the nation for the 2014 season and set a new University of Wyoming single-game record and a Mountain West Conference single-game record. His 281 rushing yards was the second best single-game performance in Wyoming school history. He scored on runs of 32-yards, 66-yards and 89-yards. He rushed for at least 100 yards in four of the Cowboys’ last five games.

High School: Hill was a very versatile athlete in high school, playing both ways for his Belleville West High team in Belleville, Ill., located just outside St. Louis, Mo. Hill played in Class 7A at Belleville West, which is the second-largest classification in the state of Illinois. His senior season, he was named an All-City running back in a combined vote by the Belleville News-Democrat staff and city head coaches. He earned First Team All-Soutwestern Conference as a running back and Second Team All-SWC as a safety. His teammates voted him the Belleville West “Team” Award. On offense, he rushed for 778 yards on 88 carries for an 8.8 yard average per rush, and he scored 15 rushing touchdowns. Hill caught 10 passes for 332 yards and six receiving TDs, and he completed 5 of 8 passes for 95 yards. His senior season, Hill also had 135 yards in kickoff returns and 73 yards on punt returns, accounting for 1,433 all-purpose yards. As a safety, he was credited with 59 tackles (41 solo tackles and 18 assists), three interceptions which he returned for 115 yards, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one sack for five yards. As a junior, Hill rushed for 614 yards on 84 carries and scored seven rushing touchdowns. He made 57 tackles (40 solos and 17 assists) and recorded three sacks on defense. For his career, Hill totalled 1,395 rushing yards, 2,050 all-purpose yards and scored a combined 28 touchdowns rushing and receiving (22 rushing and six receiving). He also was credited with 118 career tackles. Hill helped lead Belleville West to a 7-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Southwestern Conference in 2013, placing them third. Belleville West earned a trip to the 2013 Class 7A state playoffs, losing in the first round, 14-21, to Oswego. He played for head coach Cameron Pettus at Belleville West High. Hill was also recruited by Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.

Personal: Born on Nov. 9, 1995, he is the son of Tamara Lewis. He has four siblings. He is a communication major at UW.