T.Y. Hilton and FIU's Historic Turnaround

In 2007, Mario Cristobal took over a FIU football program that had never won a game — and turned it into a Sun Belt champion, earning Coach of the Year. His breakout star? T.Y. Hilton, a Miami Springs recruit he convinced to stay local. Hilton exploded onto the scene with a punt-return TD in his debut, then dominated FIU’s offense and special teams for four years, breaking career records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns — and later earning Hall of Fame honors. Cristobal’s early success with Hilton laid the groundwork for his later big-name recruits at Oregon and Miami. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/1cf4138c9574a049