Remember that time newly signed Rams receiver Austin Hill beat Jared Goff on a Hail Mary?
Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff and newly signed receiver Austin Hill have a history that goes back to their college days and one night under the lights at Arizona Stadium.
In 2014, Hill caught a 47-yard Hail Mary to cap a 36-point fourth-quarter comeback victory against Goff and California Golden Bears, 49-45.
That night, then-sophomore quarterback Jared Goff had thrown touchdown passes of 80, 26 and 30 yards to his receivers to give California a 28-6 lead at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, the Golden Bears led, 31-13.
Rams sign former Arizona receivers Austin Hill and David Richards to free-agent contracts »
In the fourth, Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon connected with Hill on a nine-yard touchdown throw early in the quarter before hitting receiver Cayleb Jones with scoring passes of 15 and 16 yards.
Then, with less than three minutes left to play and a 45-43 lead and possession of the ball, California tried to eat the clock and ended up missing a 47-yard field goal, leaving Arizona 52 seconds to work with. Too much time.
As time expired, Solomon heaved the ball 47 yards high into the air toward a crowd of white and California Gold colored jerseys, and Hill made the play of his college career.
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“About halfway, three-quarters of the way, I knew was it was heading toward me,” Hill told USA Today at the time. “I was just hoping no one would bump my elbow or jump on top of me so I could secure the catch. It was an awesome feeling to have the whole team jump on top of me, but at the same time scary.”
It was different, obviously, for Goff.
“I don’t think I’ve been through a game like that,” Goff said. “It’s so painful, but we have to get through it.”
Now they’re teammates and can try and get through this together.
Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme
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