Elijah Hill arrives at Kansas State with a track record that already looks built for disruption.
The transfer defensive end from Kennesaw State, born July 10, 2007, is majoring in business management and brings four years of eligibility with him after not redshirting last season. That matters. So does what he did in 2025: Hill played in all 14 games for the Owls, piled up 22 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks, and earned All-Conference USA first team and Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors.
He didn’t just produce. He stood out nationally.
Hill ranked 30th in the country in sacks, was tops among all freshmen, and led Conference USA in sacks per game at 0.64. He also logged 299 defensive snaps and 43 special teams plays while helping Kennesaw State win a Conference USA championship.
The big moments were there, too. Hill posted a career-high 2.5 sacks at UTEP and had two sacks against both Merrimack and Jacksonville State, with the Jacksonville State game coming in the Conference USA Championship Game.
At New Mexico State, he added 1.5 sacks and a career-high three tackles for loss, and he set his personal best with four tackles in that game. He also had three tackles against UTEP and two tackles in six other games, including the Myrtle Beach Bowl against Western Michigan.
PFF’s numbers back up the production. Hill finished with an 87.0 pass rush grade and a 17.5 percent pressure rate last season.
His résumé goes back well before Kennesaw State. At Bryant (Ark.)
High School, Hill played for head coach Quad Sanders and helped the Hornets go 35-2 over three seasons while winning three state titles. As a senior, he was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Defensive Player of the Year and the Class 7A defensive player of the year after putting up 56 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 15 sacks, along with three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a defensive score.
As a junior, he recorded 82 tackles, 39 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks and earned all-state honors.
Hill signed with Kennesaw State over offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Central Arkansas, Missouri Southern, Morehouse College, Northwest Missouri State, Ouachita Baptist and Tennessee-Martin, with interest also coming from Arkansas State, Southeast Missouri State and Tulsa.
Kansas State’s staff has already seen enough to be encouraged. Defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson pointed to Hill and Wendell Gregory when talking after spring practices: “Oh shoot, just starting up front, having defensive ends Wendell Gregory (Oklahoma State) and Elijah Hill on the edges, they have twitch, they have explosion and power.”
Head coach Collin Klein offered a similar read during his initial spring press conference, saying: “I’ve just loved his competitive nature, his motor. He’s got elite change-of-direction skills.
Even watching his body change in three months, he’s put on good weight. He’s looked really, really good moving around.
And, like I said, he’s got twitch and bend, so I think he’s going be able to get after the quarterback.”
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