Newsstand: Former Michigan football DB Daxton Hill grabs first NFL interception

Former Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill made his mark over the weekend in NFL preseason action. The Cincinnati Bengals safety grabbed his first professional interception in an exhibition contest with the New York Giants on Sunday.

Hill, who was selected with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, signed a rookie contract this spring for four years, totaling $11,667,0013. Included is a signing bonus of $5,665,100 and a fifth-year option that can be exercised prior to his fourth season in the league. He will count for $2,121,275 against the Bengals’ salary cap in 2022.

Hill entered the draft after his junior season and appeared in 33 career games with 23 starts playing multiple roles in the secondary. He also contributed on special teams. He was an All-Big Ten honoree in 2021, racking up 69 tackles (4.5 for loss), 0.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

Hill was an On3 Consensus five-star-plus safety coming out of high school, was the No. 8 overall player in the 2019 recruiting cycle. After flipping his commitment to Alabama, Hill flipped back to Michigan on signing day, giving the Wolverines a blue-chip talent to build the secondary around.

Hill was Michigan’s sixth-ranked defensive starter last season, per Pro Football Focus. He was good across the board, posting a defensive grade of 77.6 (76.8 in run defense, 74.7 in tackling, 77.8 as a pass rusher and 73.8 in coverage). Hill was rock solid and a positive in a ton of areas on the backend of Michigan’s defense.

Tweets of the day

Dax Hill with the interception! 〽️🏈#GoBlue | #ProBlue pic.twitter.com/hTzqDUCEuK

— TheWolverine.com (@TheWolverineOn3) August 22, 2022

Football is inherently dangerous. Sometimes this happens. Most of the time it doesn’t. We can’t keep taking things out of the game. It’s too fast and too hard to ask of these players to make split second decisions. A cut block happens 500x every season and is never discussed pic.twitter.com/XzWLoaliwP

— jbooty (@JakeButtTE) August 22, 2022

We’ll be at it for real in a few short day!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/CLnMpQi2HC

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) August 22, 2022

Michigan quote of the day

“I’m a big advocate, the plays you make will speak louder than the words you say. So the reps you run, the extra reps you take, that attention to detail, it all sets an example and sets a precedent for how things are supposed to be done. You don’t gotta say much, you just gotta do it.”

– Michigan senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith this offseason on leadership

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