He is legit.
I trained with several fast NFL guys, they are for real.
Those HS times are real.
Super-world-class times are all sprint-doped: not just anabolics, but also things designed to keep weight off, and pump the neurology. Without a specific sprint regimen and specific sprint juice, all the sprint superstars would be where Hill would be, had he kept at it but not gone sprint pro.
There are some sprint talents in the NFL. If they had sprint-specific programs, they would be much faster than you think. At the top, there is no ubermensch—all guys are pretty even. Yes you have outliers who have all pumped themselves up by half a second—but Hill would have done that too, had he chosen that path. He is IMO a 9.8x sprint-specific athlete.
No not everybody in the NFL is fast, even guys who are reported to be fast. Great accelerators, yes, but a whole bunch of the 100 is speed maintenance, and vmax—not something that football trains. It is a big deal. Hill might have natural talent in that area, which will get him a long way—but most NFL’ers don’t. You can get to 10.7, maybe even 10.5 if you are lucky, even if you don’t have top vmax or speed maintenance—but you will never get faster.
Can he make it this year if he tries? If he had been dedicatedly training since Sept, I would say that he would have a decent shot. At this late stage, I would say not—but on his side the Olympics are late, and the current programs can work on short time-frames. His stock in trade is his speed, which he has always had, so maybe he has been clean the whole time.
The issue is not with him, it is with other sprinters. If they show up clean, he has a shot, even if he is not sub-10. 10.1’s won’t cut it, IMO. Come trials, there will be guys stacked in that time zone, who can handle rounds without injury.
Think he’s fast? Think Carlin Isles, maybe Jeff Demps. Does he have a shot? In an off-year, yes—in an Olympic year, it is a stretch. Again, it depends on what everyone else does. Can he compete for a different nation? That would be the best, then he could train for the games and not for Trials.
I hope he tries.