LSU football: 5 most underrated players in LSU Tigers history

Dalton Hilliard is one of the most prolific running backs in the history of the SEC, yet for some reason, his name doesn’t come up as often as it should. Though it didn’t help that he played in the early-to-mid-1980s when Herschel Walker was at Georgia and most noticeably Bo Jackson was at Auburn, it’s impossible to not recognize Hilliard’s greatness. Just look at the LSU record books.

Hilliard ranks top-two all-time in LSU football history with 882 carries for 4,050 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns. He’s right up there with the likes of Kevin Faulk, Charles Alexander and Leonard Fournette. Alexander is in the College Football Hall of Fame, Faulk should be and we see Fournette star in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars these days. We’re starting to forget about Hilliard.

Though two of his nephews, Ike Hilliard and Kenny Hilliard were fellow SEC starts that played in the NFL, why do we seem to discount him and his three All-SEC First Team nods? He rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in college and over 10 touchdowns on three occasions. Hilliard is without question one of the best running backs in this state of Louisiana ever.

In 1986, Hilliard would be a second-round pick by the New Orleans Saints. He spent all eight of his professional seasons in New Orleans, earning a Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors for his 1989 campaign. Hilliard rushed for 1,262 yards on 334 carries and 13 trips to pay dirt that season. He retired after the 1993 NFL season with 1,126 carries for 4,164 yards and 39 rushing touchdowns.