COLUMBIA, MO. • Three years ago, Cam Hilton stepped onto Missouri’s campus ready to conquer the college football world.
He had a plan: Play his freshman year, have a breakout sophomore year and gain national attention his junior year. Maybe even declare for the NFL Draft a year early. If not, he would have an All-American senior season.
The rookie from Webster Groves played his freshman year, although off-the-field issues like the 2015 protests were something he wasn’t expecting. But then he had a solid sophomore season, starting six games at safety. Yet his plan took a turn when he had shoulder surgery in the offseason, experienced coaching changes early in 2017 and found himself fighting for a spot in an evolving secondary rotation last season.