Ronnie Hillman, a former running back who led the 2015 Broncos’ Super Bowl-winning team in rushing, has died. He was 31.
Hillman’s family announced his passing Thursday morning. Former teammates Orlando Franklin and Derek Wolfe, respectively, said the five-year NFL veteran entered hospice care this week after a bout with liver cancer and pneumonia. Hillman was diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma, a disease that is “a rare but highly aggressive neoplasm form of cancer that primarily affects young African Americans with sickle cell trait,” Troy Renck of Denver7 writes.
The Broncos drafted Hillman in the third round out of San Diego State in 2012. The selection came when Hillman was just 20. He had declared for the draft after totaling 3,243 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns as an Aztecs underclassman. A Long Beach, Calif., native, Hillman played in Snoop Dogg’s youth football league and had said that time allowed him to shape his focus toward a football career. Despite only playing two years at San Diego State, Hillman remains fifth on the school’s all-time rushing list.
After Hillman had totaled 573 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns for a 12-4 Denver team in 2014, new head coach Gary Kubiak installed the 5-foot-9 speed back as his starter midway through the following season. Hillman amassed 863 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in his fourth NFL season, teaming with C.J. Anderson to form a solid ground attack for the eventual Super Bowl-winning team. Hillman surpassed 100 rushing yards four times in 2015, including a 117-yard season finale that helped the Broncos secure home-field advantage.
Following the expiration of his rookie contract, Hillman finished his career in an eight-game 2016 season — spent with the Vikings and Chargers — before retiring. His death comes barely a year after Broncos teammate Demaryius Thomas died at age 33.
Wow how tragic liver cancer. Such a young man. RIP champ.
Super Bowl Champ. RIP from Chiefs Kingdom.
That’s way too young. Glad he got to live out his dream
Both him and DT gone too soon. RIP Ronnie
This is…shocking. I remembered watching Hillman in his rookie year, thinking that his speed would be a good replacement for Knowshon Moreno after he inevitably left. Hillman made a lot of clutch plays, and was pretty reliable when Denver needed a few yards to make drives manageable. He could catch the ball pretty well, too. I’m sad to hear of his passing, and he was far too young to have done so. I am thankful that I and others were fortunate enough to see him play.
Being a SDSU Alumni, I loved watching Ronnie play. He was a one of the greats at SDSU. So sad at such a young age. God bless his family.
Sad.