Former Iowa RB C.J. Hilliard headed to Ohio

Former Iowa running back C.J. Hilliard left the program because he wanted to play closer to home, and now he will have that chance.

Speaking to Jason Arkley of The Athens Messenger, Ohio University Bobcats head football coach Frank Solich stated that Hilliard had joined the program and would suit up in 2016 after sitting out this season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.

“He’s with us now, and will be on our football team,” Solich said. “It’s good to have him aboard.”

It’s certainly an ideal destination for Hilliard, a former three-star recruit out of Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School. Ohio University is in Athens, just about a three-hour drive away from Cincinnati. Should he need to go home for any reason, doing so is much easier than it would have been from Iowa City, which was about eight hours of driving away.

Hilliard will have three years of eligibility remaining in 2016 and three years to use them, so the timing is ideal. The Bobcats have gone 72-56 (48-32 MAC) in a decade under Solich, and Hilliard should only make the scrappy offense better.

Ohio opens the season on the road against the Sun Belt’s Idaho Vandals on September 3.

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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

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