After Ohio State linebacker Justin Hilliard felt soreness in his Achilles tendon early in spring practice in March, he asked Tuf Borland for his perspective. Borland, also a linebacker, had suffered a ruptured Achilles the previous year. "He described it as someone smacking you with a bat in your calf," Hilliard said. Then, during a pass-rushing drill in a subsequent practice, Hilliard had the same feeling. While being blocked by running back J.K. Dobbins, he felt a nudge in his calf. It was sudden enough that he thought for a moment that he had been kicked by running backs coach Tony Alford, who was overseeing the drill.As with Borland, Hilliard had suffered a torn Achilles. The injury cost the senior the rest of spring practice. Less than two months from preseason camp, Hilliard provided an update on his recovery while speaking at a job fair for Ohio State football players, an initiative that began under former coach Urban Meyer. In recent weeks, Hilliard said he had spent time jogging underwater and hoped to soon jog outside on a hard surface, followed by running in the next couple of months. "If I keep progressing on the trajectory I'm on," Hilliard said, "I feel confident that I'll be back at some point in camp." - Columbus Dispatch