INDIANAPOLIS – The Buckeyes received great news with receiver KJ Hill decided to come back for one more season at Ohio State and delay the NFL process for another year. All Hill did in that last year is come back and set the career receptions mark at Ohio State with a 57 reception for 636 yards and 10 touchdown season. Sure, the Buckeyes came up short in the College Football Playoff semifinals and did not achieve their ultimate goal, and while that will hurt in retrospect, the decision to come back to Ohio State for that final season ultimately proved to be a win for both Hill and Ohio State.

"Working with coach (Brian) Hartline was the biggest thing that I had going for me," Hill said. "He taught me how to be a pro. It was not even from route-running, he taught me things like accountability, being a great practice player, just tell us sometimes at practice, 'Those things will get you cut in the league'. I feel like I got a jump on everybody just because he was my position coach."

Hill measured in at the combine officially at 5-foot-11 and 7/8ths and 196 pounds. Everyone wants to hit that 6-foot mark, but Hill was 1/8th of an inch shy of that. Not that it really matters as much at a position like wide receiver as compared to some other spots where height is at more of a premium, or more importantly, there seems to be a bias against checking in sub-6-foot.

Hill now is one of 11 players at the NFL Scouting Combine from Ohio State as everyone now has a single goal in mind, impress the NFL and improve their draft status. Obviously the higher you are drafted, the bigger that first contract will be. Of course, there will be some players at the combine who won’t hear their name called but Hill is safely going to have his name called, it is just a matter of when.

Inside, outside, wherever teams want him to play, he is ready to play.

"I am very versatile, I played mainly in the slot at school but had some packages and plays when I was on the outside, so I feel like I can do it all," Hill said.

What does he want to prove to the assembled NFL executives, coaches and scouts?

"I feel like I am going to do great on the field," Hill said. "All of that comes natural to me. I have been doing the combine since the Nike (camps). I feel like that part comes naturally. Mainly, I want to accomplish (representing) to the coaches who I am as a person."

This is not Hill's first crack in a setting at least somewhat similar to this having gone through the Senior Bowl activities in Mobile (Ala.) earlier in the process.

"I know what to expect, I know what I am coming into and I am ahead of some of the guys who did not go to that," Hill said.

Hill is one of three Ohio State receivers here as Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor are going through the process with him. While the three have become very close during their Ohio State careers, this ultimately becomes an individual process as you can only rely upon yourself when you are going through the interviews, medical tests and on-field skills work.

But it certainly does not hurt having some familiar faces around this stressful process that is filled with early mornings, late nights and a full day of activities.

It has been a long journey from North Little Rock (Ark.) to the stage in Indianapolis, with every move being judged and ranked as each team looks for that difference maker at each position that can be the missing piece.

Terry McLaurin shocked a lot of people in the NFL this year as a player that was not a first rounder that went on and had a strong year with big numbers, even if everyone in Buckeye Nation knew what the Redskins were getting. Hill may be a little undervalued on some of the draft boards now in February, but this combine might be a big step in turning that around.

Could McLaurin's current team make another dream come true and dip back into the Ohio State pool with Hill?

"We were just talking about Terry and Dwayne (Haskins) actually," Hill said. "We also went over a little bit of knowledge of the game, trying to figure out what I know."

Hill had that moment in high school when he realized that he might be able to make a living playing football and now he is just a couple of months away from being drafted. He is not going to take anything for granted.

"It would mean a lot, it is a blessing," Hill said. "Everybody does not get to do that, and I know that when I get there that I am going to take full advantage of it and not mess that opportunity up."