DOUGLAS, Ga. _ Making for a certain mystique about him, much of the origins of human blur Tyreek Hill remains as elusive as he is on a football field.
We know he grew up in rural southern Georgia with his "amazing" maternal grandparents after being born to athletic teenage parents, an adolescence he speaks of fondly but sparingly. And we know the grandparents, Virginia and Herman Hill, have been disinclined to be interviewed about him since the Chiefs drafted Hill in 2016.
But if you want to shade in some of how he became among the fastest and most electrifying players in the NFL, if you want to understand how he got here from there, you could learn a lot by asking him about Jerry Hill _ to whom he is not related but is still forever tethered.
In the process, you also could be reminded about the profound and poignant impact one person who believes in another can mean at a pivotal time in life.
In this case, you could see it all encapsulated in a few snapshots at the Pro Bowl in January, when Jerry Hill was Tyreek's special guest.
As the high school track coach of the Chiefs receiver sat with his wife, Staci, at the bar in the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla., the protege approached from behind and put his hands on the mentor's shoulders.
Then he introduced Jerry Hill to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and said, "This is the guy I've been telling you about."
Then he looked at Jerry Hill and told his girlfriend, "I just want you to know, this is why. This man right here. This man right here is why."
