Hunter Hillenmeyer

Hunter Taverner Hillenmeyer (born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft and played for the Chicago Bears from 2003 to 2010. Hillenmeyer attended high school at Montgomery Bell Academy and played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

He is a columnist for TheStreet.com.

Early life Growing up in Nashville, Hillenmeyer attended Harding Academy before moving onto Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA). Hillenmeyer was a two-time All-state, All-region and All-district selection at Montgomery Bell Academy playing linebacker, defensive end, tight end and punter for the Big Red, including the school's 1998 state championship team. He lettered 3 years in football, 3 years in track and 2 years in tennis.

College career Hillenmeyer was a four-year letterwinner at Vanderbilt University (1999–2002) where he saw action in 45 games, starting the final 23 (every contest from 2000 to 2002) and tallying 249 tackles (165 solos) and 6.5 sacks. As a senior, Hillenmeyer was 1 of 6 Division I-A football National Scholar-Athletes earned First-team All-SEC and First-team Academic All-America honors while leading nation in tackles per game (14.0).

Professional career Green Bay Packers Hillenmeyer was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round, with the 166th overall, of the 2003 NFL draft. He was waived by the Packers on September 10, 2003.

Chicago Bears Hillenmeyer was signed to the practice squad of the Chicago Bears on September 13, 2003. He was promoted to the active roster on October 2, 2003. the Chicago Sun-Times called Hillenmeyer "underrated". In announcing the defensive starters for a 2006 Monday Night Football game against the St. Louis Rams, Bears teammate Alex Brown nicknamed the linebacker "Triple H Hunter Hillenmeyer".

Hillenmeyer replaced Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker for the Bears after Urlacher's season-ending wrist injury in Week 1 of the 2009 season, making 90 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception and forcing four fumbles.

On September 14, 2010, Hillenmeyer was placed on the Bears injured reserve list after sustaining a severe concussion in the team's season opener against the Detroit Lions. He was released by the Bears on February 28, 2011.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2003 CHI 13 0 11 9 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2004 CHI 16 11 86 65 21 2.5 9 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 13 0 2005 CHI 13 12 63 45 18 1.0 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2006 CHI 15 13 49 36 13 0.0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2007 CHI 16 14 79 66 13 0.0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2008 CHI 13 6 18 14 4 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2009 CHI 14 13 90 65 25 2.5 5 1 0 0 0 5 4 1 -1 0 2010 CHI 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 101 69 396 300 96 7.0 26 2 0 0 0 14 6 4 12 0

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2005 CHI 1 1 8 7 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2006 CHI 3 2 12 6 6 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 3 20 13 7 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Personal life Hillenmeyer pursued a part-time MBA program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His father is a chef and restaurant owner in Tennessee.

He is married to Shannon Floyd, the daughter of former college basketball and NBA coach Tim Floyd. The two were wed in 2008.

In 2013, Hillenmeyer founded a company called OverDog, which allows fans to compete against pro athletes in video games over a mobile app.