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Duke

Duke's Hill signs free agent contract with Patriots

Aug 8, 2012

Durham, N.C. — Former Duke offensive lineman Kyle Hill has signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s New England Patriots, announced this week by the organization.

Hill, a 6-6, 290-pound native of Orlando, Fla., played in and started 46 games along Duke’s offensive front from 2008-11. As a redshirt freshman in 2008, he started all 12 games at left guard en route to earning second team Freshman All-America honors from Sporting News. Hill then moved to left tackle, where he started 34 consecutive games before missing the final two weeks of the 2011 campaign due to a shoulder injury which required surgery.

As a senior in 2011, Hill served as a team captain and helped Duke rank among the ACC leaders in both passing offense (2nd) and sacks allowed per passing attempt (3rd). In addition, he aided a Blue Devil passing attack that had four players catch 40-plus passes for just the second time in school history and first time since 1982, and was part of a Duke line that opened holes for 19 rushing touchdowns, a total that matched the program’s highest since 1995.

A two-time Academic All-ACC selection, Hill played 3,326 snaps during his Blue Devil career. He graduated from Duke in May, 2011 with a degree in sociology.