Khalid Hill started reaching out on social media. He realized he was one of the few who played his position — he knew that before the process of going from college to the NFL even began — and he wanted to connect with those who would understand.

Start a conversation. Create a bond. reebok nfl jerseys Fullbacks play one of the most brutal, unforgiving positions in the game. Yet they also realize, these days, how rare they are.

A half-century ago, fullbacks were an integral part of college and professional offenses. Now, they barely exist. The evolution of offense eliminated the position at some college programs. NFL teams, with 53-man roster limits, don’t always elect to carry a fullback. It is, other than long-snapper, perhaps the least-heralded position in football. Every team needs to have a long-snapper, even if it is someone who also plays another position.

Not every team needs a fullback. Even when a team might, sometimes that ends up being a guy moonlighting, as the Detroit Lions did with linebacker Nick Bellore last season. That has left the college fullback in a tough position when trying to make a transition to the NFL.

“Being a fullback is such a dead position. People don’t really use it,” Hill said. “So you’re going to not really find many teams that are going to draft a fullback, you know what I’m saying? They’re not going to really do that because they are going to use you — what? — two or three times a game, depending on the offense. So you want to be as versatile as you can and do as much as you can because coaches like to see that.”

A fullback is a throwback in name but a utility player in practice. These days, he’d better be able to handle throws from his quarterback or possibly be able to throw passes himself as part of a trick play. He’s a guy without a defined position on a team, if there’s a roster spot for him at all.

Jaylen Samuels, considered a fullback and H-back at North Carolina State, was a tight end at the combine. Hill began at Michigan as a tight end before moving to fullback and is nfl authentic jerseys cheap consuming hours of Delanie Walker highlights to try to become a fullback/H-back/tight end.