Super Bowl LIV: Chiefs' Tyreek Hill is on the fast track 

AVENTURA, Fla. — Tyreek Hill played middle linebacker in middle school until everyone else got taller and he couldn’t see over the line. Then he became a running back, and with his speed, very few could stop him.

That speed has served Hill well in the NFL. Andy Reid turned him into a wide receiver and he often is wide open. If he gets a step on you, he’s gone.

“Ain’t nobody faster than me,” Hill said. “I’m the cheetah, man. Fastest animal in the world, man. Nobody in the NFL can beat me in a foot race.”

And on Sunday, Richard Sherman and the rest of the 49ers’ secondary are going to have their hands full against Hill and the Chiefs’ other offensive weapons in Super Bowl LIV.

Hill says his job is easy: He just has to run his route and Patrick Mahomes will find him. There is some truth to that. Hill is a matchup nightmare because of his speed. He’s also out to prove that he’s more than that.

The 5-10, 185-pound Hill, who grew up idolizing Randy Moss and Deion Sanders and looking up to running backs Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson, wants to show he can block and play physically and do more than just leave people in the dust.

Hill wants to be “the best wide receiver overall” and wants people to say “man, he’s different.” He says he’s working toward that, but he’s already a threat. If the Chiefs win their first championship in 50 years on Sunday, the freakishly fast Hill is likely to be one of the reasons.

“This game right here is where you leave your legacy,” he said. “This game right here is where you separate yourself from a lot of players. A lot of people say ‘I want to be the best receiver in the league, I want to be this or that.’ Well, here’s your chance to prove it. You want to be the best, prove it on the biggest stage in the world.”

Hill’s participation in the biggest football game of the year didn’t seem likely last spring.

Police were called to his house twice in March and he was accused of breaking his 3-year-old son’s arm. Hill also seemed to be threatening his fiancee in audio that aired on a Kansas City television station. The NFL investigated and the Chiefs suspended him from all team activities.

This wasn’t the first time that Hill was involved in a domestic abuse case. While in college, he pleaded guilty to punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend. He received three years’ probation.

In the latter situation, a Kansas City district attorney dropped the case because officials couldn’t prove who had injured Hill’s son. The NFL ultimately decided there was not enough evidence to suspend Hill, and he was permitted to rejoin the Chiefs. When he did, he told Kansas City reporters he was working every day on becoming a better father, son, person, citizen and teammate.

“I had a rough patch or whatever, but I was able to bounce through because of my faith and because of the people I had around me and my support cast,” Hill said. “I was able to still see my son. My son knows what’s going on. Just having my son around me during those moments was the real big thing I needed to realize that, ‘Hey, buddy, I’m always going to be here and I’m always going to be your father. I love you.’ He still tells me to this day, ‘Daddy, you’re my best friend no matter what.’  ”

Hill has been very active in community service and charity work, primarily for children. The Chiefs signed him to a three-year, $54 million extension in September, believing he was on the right path.

“Tyreek’s done a nice job with his life off of the field and managing that,” Reid said. “I’m proud of him for that. To see growth in somebody, you like to see that with these young guys. He’s doing well as a father and he’s doing well as a football player. We’re lucky to have him.”

Tight end Travis Kelce said he’s seen growth from Hill, but he also credits the Chiefs’ organization and the family environment they’ve created for helping troubled players find their way.

“Every single year I’ve seen him progress,” Kelce said. “I’ve been fortunate to feel that progression myself as someone that might have been a hothead as a younger player, somebody that might have been a loose cannon early in my career. This organization does an unbelievable job of helping guys find who they are as professionals and as people and how we conduct ourselves.

“I’m just happy with his story, where he’s come to who he is now. I’m just happy to see how much he’s progressed and how he’s handled his situation, his life. That’s a brother that I’ll always cherish.”

There’s no denying Hill’s excellence on the football field. He has caught 281 passes for 4,115 yards and 32 touchdowns in the regular season since the Chiefs took him in the fifth round in 2016. This season, he missed four games because of a collarbone injury and still had 58 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. In the AFC Championship Game against Tennessee two weeks ago, two of his five receptions went for touchdowns as the Chiefs won, 35-24.

Hill still is a work in progress off the field, but he’s working on making sure he doesn’t disappoint his family or the team.

“I feel like the Chiefs, they gave me this opportunity and I’m not going to take it for granted,” he said. “I’m not only playing for myself, I’m playing for my kids, I’m playing for my city and I’m playing for the organization. Everything I do is going to be for them and it’s going to be for my kids.

“For the Chiefs to give me the amount of money, I’m truly blessed. I thank them for that. I would never let those guys down.”