NFL Draft Prospect P.J. Hill Arrested

As hundreds of young athletes continue their preparations for next month's NFL Draft, it's inevitable that at least a few of them will run afoul of the law. For them, the draft will become a bit more stressful, as they take quite a hit in the wallet while they plummet down the board.

This year, former Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill now finds himself in that predicament. Hill was arrested early Saturday morning in Madison for drunken driving. While he wasn't exactly flying up draft boards and appeared a bit slow at his Pro Day, what's left of Hill's stock is sure to start falling now.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Hill was picked up after leading police on a chase and crashing his car near his home.

Hill was arrested about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Dane County Circuit Court. Assistant District Attorney Vanny Lu said in court Monday that police were called to the Open Pantry, 1401 Regent St., after a vehicle struck a guard rail and left the scene.

Police spotted the car at a traffic light nearby, Lu said. The driver accelerated through the light and led police on a short chase to Spring Street, then attempted to turn into a driveway. The car crashed into a wooden retaining wall and stopped. Hill, who was driving, was arrested at gunpoint, Lu said.

The worst of the news for Hill is that this isn't his first run-in with the law.

Lu asked that Hill, who has connections to New York and Arizona, be restricted from traveling out of Wisconsin while charges against him are pending. Hill also has charges pending against him in Scottsdale, Ariz., including drunken driving, unreasonable speed and making unsafe lane changes, Arizona court records indicate. He is due back in court in Arizona on Thursday.

The Journal reported earlier in the offseason that Hill was impressive when interviewing with teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Since he had been working out in Arizona as part of his draft preparation, any travel restriction is a double-whammy for Hill, but it's a well-deserved one. It's no longer likely that any team will take a chance on Hill in the draft, given that he has charges pending against him in two states for the same thing (drunk driving).

It's difficult, if not impossible, to feel sorry for people who do things to harm their own future, especially when that future includes the potential for a six-figure NFL signing bonus.