How a Wisconsin football true freshman forced his way into the WR rotation
Eugene Hilton Jr. arrived with big expectations and has quickly earned a role in the Wisconsin Badgers WR rotation, impressing Jeff Grimes.
There’s usually an adjustment period when a freshman wide receiver makes the jump to the Big Ten. Routes need tightening, blocking requires more physicality, and the overall speed of the game has a way of humbling even the most decorated high school recruits. Eugene Hilton Jr. hasn’t been immune to those realities, but to this point in his career with the Wisconsin football program, he’s already closed much of that gap.
By the time fall camp wrapped up, Hilton had made himself impossible to ignore. New offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes didn’t dance around it. He flat-out said Hilton will be part of the receiver rotation this fall.
“Eugene, yes, I do think he could get some playing time this year,” Grimes said during local media day. “Just looking at his improvement from the time he first got here to where he is now, he's made a lot of strides.
“I think he's got a complete skill set as a receiver. But, his real gift right now is that he kind of does some receiver things naturally, things that some other guys maybe two or three or four years into their career, and you’re still trying to teach them: how to run this route, or how to make that cut, or how to adjust to this ball. He just does them pretty naturally.”
That’s not faint praise. It’s rare for a coordinator to be that direct about a freshman receiver before the season even starts. It reflects just how consistently Hilton showed up from spring practice throughout August.
Hilton, of course, is not just another recruit. He’s the son of former Indianapolis Colts star T.Y. Hilton, and those NFL bloodlines drew plenty of attention during his recruitment. He finished his high school career with 156 catches for 2,162 yards and 29 touchdowns, choosing Wisconsin over offers from Georgia, Miami, Michigan, and Missouri, among many others.
He runs a 40-yard dash in the upper 4.6s, but speed was never the sole selling point of his game. What stood out was the completeness of his skill set, good size at 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds, reliable hands, and the kind of polish you usually don’t see from high schoolers.
That polish showed almost immediately when he enrolled early and took part in spring practices. While Wisconsin's staff brought in 15 freshmen early, it was Hilton who was arguably the most consistent performer.
Wide receivers coach Jordan Reid noticed right away.
“With his family background, you worry about kids coming in like that just with, ‘all right, is he hungry?’” Reid said back in the spring. “‘Does he think he’s just going to walk in and he’s arrived?’ Man, this joker’s worked. Everything that he’s done has really been impressive to see.”
That wasn’t just coach-speak in the spring because Hilton carried that same approach into fall camp. Grimes, who has seen plenty of talented wideouts during his stops as coordinator at BYU, Baylor, and Kansas, doubled down when asked again about Hilton’s role at the end of camp.
“He definitely will have a role,” Grimes said. “I would say right now, I don’t want to put numbers on it, but he’s one of our better receivers, when you’re asking a guy to run a route in the way that it’s designed to be run, create separation, and then go up and make a play on the ball.
"He just has a knack for getting open, and he doesn’t drop balls. On top of that, where he’s grown a lot is in his blocking. In the spring, like a lot of freshman wide receivers, he didn’t really know that was a thing that was part of the job responsibilities, but he’s grown a lot in terms of his toughness, and right now, he will definitely play. He’ll be in the rotation.”
That last part is especially telling. For any freshman receiver, blocking can be the difference between earning snaps and standing on the sideline.
Wisconsin’s offense under Grimes will lean heavily on a physical run game with Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree, so Hilton’s growth in that area is what’s made him a true option, not just a developmental piece. The talent has never been in question with Hilton. What’s earned him a place on the field is the consistency, the willingness to handle the little details, and the timing that quarterbacks rely on to trust a receiver in a real game plan.
And make no mistake: Hilton will have to compete for targets.
Wisconsin’s wide receiver room has options with burners like Vinny Anthony and Ohio State transfer Jayden Ballard on the outside, Trech Kekahuna in the slot, and Chris Brooks providing a steady veteran presence. Tyrell Henry and Hawaii transfer Dekel Crowdus are in the mix for situational snaps as well. Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. has more than enough options, and Hilton isn’t walking into guaranteed touches.
What he has earned, though, is trust from his Wisconsin Badgers coaches and teammates who have watched him stack plays day after day.
The NFL lineage will always be part of Hilton’s story, but it’s not what’s driving him. His route-running, ball skills, and toughness are what put him in position to contribute as a true freshman. In a year where Wisconsin’s offense is trying to re-establish itself under Grimes and find a reliable passing attack to complement the run game, Hilton’s emergence could be timely. Either way, Hilton's inclusion in the rotation felt inevitable.
For now, the Badgers don’t need him to be a star. They just need Hilton to be what he’s already shown he is: a dependable playmaker who does things the way they're supposed to be done, gets open, catches the ball, and does his job. If that holds, Wisconsin might have landed more than just a legacy recruit. They might have found an early difference-maker to build around when the upperclassmen exhaust eligibility at season's end.
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