Early life

Hitchens grew up in Lorain, Ohio where he attended Clearview High School (Lorain, Ohio). In high school, Hitchens was a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and track. On the football field he was also known for being an explosive running back. He is the school's all-time rushing leader with 3,864 yards, and the single game leader with 354 yards.

Hitchens was labeled a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. He had offers from Kansas University, Indiana University, University of Akron, and Eastern Michigan, before deciding to continue his career at the University of Iowa.

College career

At Iowa, Hitchens was a four-year letter winner. In his first two years, he stayed mainly on special teams, before starting at linebacker as a junior, and senior. In his career at Iowa he racked up 270 total tackles, including 124 as junior which led the Big Ten Conference.

Professional career

2014 NFL Draft

At the NFL Scouting Combine, he ran a 4.74 in the 40 yard dash, and did 23 reps on the bench press. His vertical jump was 31.5 inches, while broad jumping 116 inches. In the three cone drill, he was timed at 7.15 seconds. Lastly, in the 20 yard shuttle, Hitchens completed in 4.45 seconds.

Dallas Cowboys

Hitchens was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft, with the purpose of backing up Sean Lee at middle linebacker. At the time, the selection was considered by the media as a reach and there were questions if he could play in the middle of the defense.

When Sean Lee was lost for the season and the team traded for Rolando McClain, it was decided to make Hitchens learn all three linebacker positions in training camp. After a slow start, his ability to play different positions and every down, moved him ahead of Kyle Wilber on the depth chart and helped compensate for the injuries suffered by the linebacker corps. His role became more important after Justin Durant was lost for the year in week 8, recording 11 starts throughout the season. He was nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week award after his week 16 performance against the Indianapolis Colts. Hitchens finished the season with starts in all three linebacker positions, 100 tackles (third on the team), 4 passes defensed, 2 quarterback pressures and one interception. Even though he suffered a right high-ankle sprain in the last game of the regular season, he played in the wildcard playoff game against the Detroit Lions, where he was involved in a controversial non interference call against tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

In 2015, his opportunities were reduced with both Lee and McClain playing the majority of the season. He registered 85 tackles (fourth on the team), one pass defensed and one forced fumble. He made 9 starts, including one at middle linebacker against the New York Jets, in place of an injured McClain.

Career Stats

NFL Career Statistics
Dallas Cowboys
Year	GP	GS	Comb	Solo	Ast	Sack	FF	FR	FR Yds	Int	Int Yds	Avg	Long	TD	PD
2014	16	11	84	66	18	0.0	0	0	0	1	8	8.0	8	0	5
2015	16	9	67	40	27	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
Career	32	20	151	106	45	2.0	1	0	0	1	8	8.0	8	0	6

[ Source: Wikipedia ]