From the NFL to police force, duo brings different perspective to second career

Jason Hilliard has learned to embrace the unexpected.

It's how he went from undrafted NFL offensive lineman to blocking for Eli Manning on "Sunday Night Football." It's also how he earned his second medal of valor as a Louisville Metro Police officer on a run-of-the-mill distress call.

That latter accomplishment came at the end of an overnight shift in December. He and his partner were speaking with a mother about her son, who was on drugs. The son rushed out with a butcher knife and started hurting himself. Hilliard wrestled it away.

"I just reacted," he said. "I didn’t think about the danger of him having a knife in his hand and running toward him. … That’s what I signed up for — to help people."

Former NFL football players Isaac Sowells, left, and Jason Hilliard are now Louisville Metro Police officers. Sowells played at Central High School, Indiana University and the Cleveland Browns. Hilliard played at Jeffersonville High School, the University of Louisville and the New York Giants. Sowells won a high school championship ring with Central and Hilliard won a high school championship ring as an assistant coach at Christian Academy of Louisville.
Apr. 6, 2019 (Photo: Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal)

The unexpected is also what led him to his friend, fellow Louisville Metro Police officer Isaac Sowells. He, too, is a former NFL offensive lineman and was raised in Louisville. They both majored in criminal justice in college but had no idea they would end up as officers in the communities they grew up in.

They police with their backgrounds in mind. Like the fact that they're former NFL players during a time where the league and law enforcement have a contentious relationship. They acknowledged they'd like to bridge that gap, calling trust in police vital.

"A lot of what we do depends on help from our community," Hilliard said. "When danger and situations occur, our community needs us not to hesitate but to go into action. So we need each other. It’s a serious topic and it’s something that we all need to come together and get it right."

They both still have hulking statures close to their playing days, when Hilliard was listed at 6-foot-6, 340 pounds, and Sowells was listed 6-foot-3, 324 pounds. But they are more concerned about using their voices then their bodies.

"We don't use our size and stature to police. We open our mouths and we talk and that's how we police," Hilliard said. "That's one thing that both of us have going for us."

That's especially true for Sowells, a member of the community policing unit. He spends the bulk of his time going around to middle and high schools to speak with his kids.

One student that stuck with him was from Westport Middle. He was on the brink of repeating a grade, the product of him having no bed to sleep in and only one pair of clothes. Sowells bought him clothes, worked with him, and he graduated to Ballard High School.

"I see a lot of myself in those kids," he said. "I grew up in a single-parent household. I know what it's like to some of those kids — no food, no electricity."

Jason Hilliard, facing the camera left, during training camp with the New York Giants in 2005. (Photo: Tim Roske, AP)

Sowells grew up in Louisville's West End and attended Doss High School. He attended college at Indiana University, with his mom telling him she wanted him to experience something different.

He knew he was good enough to play professionally his sophomore year when he was tasked with blocking Ohio State's Will Smith, a future first-round pick. His Hoosiers were blown out, but he held Smith without a sack.

"I remember him looking at me, and he said, ‘No. 76, you’re young but you’re gonna be all right,'" Sowells said.

Two years later, he was drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns. Injuries, including a high-ankle sprain and concussion, derailed his first two years, before he played in all 16 games for the Browns in 2008. That was the last regular-season appearance of his career, the result of a torn quad.

"I could never really get it off the ground like I wish I had," Sowells said.

Hilliard's story was similar, except it started across the Ohio River. He played at Jeffersonville High and then Louisville but went undrafted.

He latched on with the New York Giants, playing in the last two games of 2004, blocking for Manning. The Giants closed out the season by beating the Dallas Cowboys on a last-second touchdown on Sunday night. It was his last regular-season NFL game, also because of a series of injuries, including a broken foot.

"It was a surreal feeling," Hilliard said. "Such a small percentage of kids who play high school ball get to make it to college, and then even smaller percentage make it to the professional level. I consider myself extremely blessed."

2010.07.31 BENGALS SPORTS : The Isaac Sowells (79) warms up during training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals guard in 2010. (Photo: Jeff Swinger, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

They both decided they wanted to be officers. While Hilliard also applied to the FBI and Secret Service and Sowells to departments in Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Cleveland, they ended up back in their hometowns. Their paths collided in the Louisville Metro Police academy in 2012.

They were introduced by a fellow officer, Erik Marshall. While they didn't know each other, they felt like they did because of their similar backgrounds. They found a number of athletes in the department, including college football and basketball players, and track athletes. They weren't surprised.

"Any ballplayer will tell you, when you get done playing, you don't miss the practices," Hilliard said. "I miss sitting in the locker room for an hour after practice, laughing and joking with the guys that you go to war with."

Sowells said their diverse backgrounds have helped them approach certain situations. That's come in handy as their jobs have admittedly gotten harder, with a bigger microscope put on the actions of police.

"We were blessed enough to be in another profession before the police department. We have a different perspective on thinking," he said. "We do not go out and say we are going to do this to a person every day. That does not happen with the officers that I associate myself with."

And unlike being an offensive lineman, where your greatest consequence is your quarterback getting sacked, the stakes are greater as an officer.

"You can't unsee things in policing," Hilliard said. "We both have gone home and sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled based on the way a night has gone. When you come into roll call, nothing can prepare you for what you might encounter. … One thing can go wrong and it can change a lot, your lifestyle, your life. As much as we like to joke around and things like that, we have to keep it in perspective that this is a serious job."

That has prompted them to unwind outside of their jobs. They hang out with their wives and spend time with their kids, watching them play sports, including football. Sowells like movies and date nights, while Hilliard likes fishing.

They're also both high school football coaches. Sowells coaches at Central, while Hilliard coaches at Christian Academy. Both won state championships this year, and proudly wear their rings. Hilliard is quick to point out he has one more, thanks to a championship in 2017.

And they still carve out time for each other — often getting lunches together.

"If you put some wings in front of me and Isaac, it won't last long," he said.

They have 18 years left in their policing careers, and they have big goals. Sowells wants to be a sergeant, while Hilliard wants to be a detective and move up in the ranks.

Their paths were unexpected. But, for both of them, it's worked out.

"I think we're both in a great place," Hilliard said.

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