Paul Dehner Jr.

pdehnerjr@enquirer.com

Lisa Hill dubs herself a "hands-on mother." When her son, Jeremy, was drafted by the Bengals this May, she decided to move to Cincinnati in season to make sure the fast NFL world didn't lift her 22-year-old from his roots.

When he ended up purchasing a new car before being drafted, Lisa stepped in and made him return it. For a mother who worked long hours in her real estate business to put him through private school, there were be no buying cars before signing contracts.

When an incident at his high school got him and two others expelled his senior year and unknowing how to earn a degree necessary to keep his football scholarship to LSU, she turned her home into a home school. And she stands firm her lessons were harder than those in the old classrooms.

She knew from way back when Jeremy would carry seemingly the entire opposing team on his back into the end zone as a third-grade football player he would be somebody. Everybody in the neighborhood knew at that point.

"Even people that are not in the family could see," Lisa said. "They'd ask, 'Who is this kid?' We knew greatness was upon his life. We knew someone with a gift this great, the world has to see this."

She also knew, when that day came, she wanted the world to see the grounded, respectful son of a pastor rooted in a strong family foundation that she knew and loved. As with any parenting road, it featured speed bumps, potholes and detours.

That's why Lisa Hill toiled in her kitchen for 12 hours this Christmas. She spent the day cooking gumbo and jambalaya and every Cajun amenity imaginable to make Cincinnati, Ohio taste like their hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Couldn't do it any other way with the close family circle flying and driving in from Louisiana.

The company included Jeremy's dad Cornell Hill, sister Amber, brother Cornell II along with his fiancé Paris Hulbert and their six-month-old baby, Harley. They arrived earlier in the week to witness what turned into his breakout party on national television. The country caught up, learning the name of a player who became a household conversation piece inside the I-275 belt months ago.

"Jeremy was probably happier than I have seen him in a very, very long time," Lisa said.

This family all stayed together celebrating Christmas, knowing the real Jeremy Hill. They were the ones who have always known the truth. They weren't steered by media reports or scouts placing red flags beside a name. They knew Jeremy and believed in him.

"I spent a lot of time with them reflecting and really just thinking about how much of a blessed situation I'm in right now," Jeremy said. "Just being the starting running back here and being in the NFL, just everything I've always worked for my whole entire life."

And everything that nearly never came to fruition.

Hill was arrested for alleged sexual assault while in high school and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for activities with a 14-year-old girl in a locker room, missing his first season at LSU while the judicial process played out. Two years later, in 2013, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to simple battery for punching another man outside a bar in an incident caught on video. He was suspended for a game before returning to the LSU football team.

He went on to set an SEC single-season record for most yards per carry (6.9) on a minimum of 200 attempts, and his 1,401 yards rank second all-time in school history.

As his draft stock came under evaluation, every raving report on his talent concluded with an asterisk.

"They wanted to kill him for it," Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said.

Jackson delved deeper. He held no-nonsense conversations with trusted confidants Cam Cameron, the Tigers offensive coordinator who worked with Jackson in Baltimore, as well as wide receivers coach Adam Henry, who was on Jackson's staff in Oakland.

They told him the reality, giving "rave reviews" of him off the field. Hill had made mistakes as many kids do, but he held himself accountable and portrayed a maturity that made everyone in the program believe there were zero concerns going forward.

By the time Hill wrote a letter to all 32 teams specifically outlining his arrests and accepting responsibility, it cemented the Bengals' notion.

"It was an easy sell to the organization," Jackson said. "He's unbelievable. He's an unbelievable young man. I love being around him. He's a ton of fun. His teammates would tell you the same thing."

Since the moment his name was announced as the second running back selected and No. 55 overall this past season, he's validated the choice on and off the field in every aspect imaginable.

It's been a blossoming maturity Lisa Hill never doubted would emerge.

"As a teenager he did make some choices I am not proud of, but I still knew the son that I raised," she said, admitting most don't know the whole story behind his incidents. "I still knew what was instilled in him. Still knew the values instilled in him. I knew we raised him in church, I knew we taught him right from wrong. I knew at the end of the day Jeremy was a good person and a good kid, he may have just made some bad choices."

Now, his footwork, fire and flair have invigorated an offense almost certain to set a new record for rushing yards in a season under Marvin Lewis. He's in a battle of one-upmanship with close friend Odell Beckham Jr., for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

He's brought on comparisons to beloved Bengals of the past: Corey Dillon, Rudi Johnson and Ickey Woods.

He joins only 10 players in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards as a rookie while averaging five yards per carry. Others on that list include Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson.

More than any stats, the leaders of this team understand he's instilled a confidence and fun-loving spirit to this offense that's become a centerpiece of their playoff push. Whether the wide smile, jokes in the locker room or dances in the end zone, he's throwing the Bengals hopes on his back much as he did those third-grade tacklers.

"He loves playing football," said left tackle and LSU alum Andrew Whitworth, who lobbied for Hill all last season and leading up to the draft. "You can see his energy and his joy every time he's out there. It's kind of uplifting to the group. He really relishes every opportunity they hand him the ball to do something special with it."

Hill still endures sleepless nights thinking about his fumbles and Jackson even exchanged stern words with him during the last game for celebrating over the top following another impressive run.

In so many ways, he's still maturing and learning to handle a success most NFL players aren't forced to deal with at his age. Heck, he's even got what his mother calls his "I'm in the NFL car" now. No need to take it back this time. He's here to stay.

Though, nothing is guaranteed. Even Lisa can admit she doesn't know what will come next for Hill. Nobody can predict, particularly in the professional athlete culture. But as the Hill family gathered around the gumbo this Christmas, they celebrate the remarkable rise and whole world learning what they've long known about their brother and son, Jeremy.

"The NFL is a fast world," Lisa said. "Who knows what tomorrow holds. I do know Jeremy is a good kid and I do know the adversity he was able to overcome helped mold and shape him into the fine young man he is today."