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The Cincinnati Bengals hosted LSU running back Jeremy Hill on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport (we're a few days behind on this one).
#LSU RB Jeremy Hill is in Cincy today visiting with #Bengals. Has visited with #Bills, #Titans & #Jaguars. He has one more visit this week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2014
Hill is viewed as a second to third round prospect, according to CBS Sports and the third-best running back in the 2014 NFL draft, according to ESPN. Good talent, strong competitiveness and power -- a nice complement to Giovani Bernard if the team decides to move on from BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
However, Hill is exactly the type of player that Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown have talked about with their approach to the draft with the avoidance of character issues. He's been arrested twice at LSU, including one in 2011 for sexual battery -- leading to a guilty plea to misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The second was for assault leading to probation through July 12, 2015. At the very least, his arrests were several years ago. People grow in that amount of time. If the team is checking him out, they've talked to him and, at the very least, feel comfortable about his maturation -- otherwise, he wouldn't be in Cincinnati.
Earlier this year, Hill sent out a letter to all 32 teams in an effort to explain his past.
"I put myself in that situation, but, like I said, I can't really focus on that," he said. "All I can do is make the right decisions going forward and put myself in the best position possible. ... I'm just moving forward and doing the right things from here on out."
Hill also said that NFL teams are aware of his past.
"It's just up to me to be honest about it and let them know ... everything that happened, and everything else will take care of itself after that," he said.
Hell, if you're hanging with Jeff Ruby, then you're in good shape.
LSU star rb Jeremy Hill being recruited by our Bengals as we speak @TheRealJeffRuby Steakhouse ! Nice kid. Great rb pic.twitter.com/ZY0aNtK8XX
— Jeff Ruby (@TheRealJeffRuby) April 21, 2014