Colorado State University Athletics
Football
Dalton Hilliard
- Title:
- Passing Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs
- Email:
- ramfootball@colostate.edu
Dalton Hilliard joined Jim Mora’s staff in December of 2025 as a pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach, titles he held as part of Mora’s Connecticut staffs for four seasons. The two have a long history together, as Hilliard was a graduate assistant at UCLA under Mora from 2015-17.
Hilliard’s secondaries registered double-digit interception totals in three of his four seasons with the Huskies, as well as developing secondary players who were instrumental in stopping the run.
Prior to his time at UConn, he spent one season at Arkansas State as the secondary coach (2021) and two seasons at UT-Martin as the pass game coordinator and a secondary coach. Hilliard came to UConn after spending the 2021 season as the secondary coach at Arkansas State. In total, he spent three seasons on the UCLA staff, serving as a defensive and special teams analyst in 2018.
After his collegiate career, Hilliard signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2013. Following his stint in the NFL, he played professional football in Italy, leading Seamen Milano to the team’s first Italian Super Bowl in 20 years.
Hilliard was a four-year safety at UCLA, seeing action in 41 games while earning 27 starts. He tallied 114 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception in his career. As a senior he was honored as the team’s Tommy Prothro Award for Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year and one of three Kenneth S. Washington Award winners for Outstanding Senior of the Year.
Hilliard graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA in 2013. He later added a master’s degree in higher education and organizational change in from UCLA in 2017.
Hilliard and his wife, Katrina, have a daughter, Naiya.
Personal Information
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Family: Wife – Katrina / Children – Naiya
Education: UCLA, 2012 (Bachelor's) / 2017 (Master’s)
Birthday: August 1
Hilliard Experience
2026-Present: Colorado State (Pass Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs)
2022-25: Connecticut (Passing Game Coordinator / Secondary, 2024-25; Secondary, 2022-23)
2021: Arkansas State (Secondary)
2019-20: Tennessee Martin (Passing Game Coordinator / Secondary, 2020; Passing Game Coordinator / Cornerbacks, 2019)
2015-18: UCLA (Defensive / Special Teams Analyst, 2018; Graduate Assistant - Defense, 2015-17)
Hilliard’s secondaries registered double-digit interception totals in three of his four seasons with the Huskies, as well as developing secondary players who were instrumental in stopping the run.
Prior to his time at UConn, he spent one season at Arkansas State as the secondary coach (2021) and two seasons at UT-Martin as the pass game coordinator and a secondary coach. Hilliard came to UConn after spending the 2021 season as the secondary coach at Arkansas State. In total, he spent three seasons on the UCLA staff, serving as a defensive and special teams analyst in 2018.
After his collegiate career, Hilliard signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2013. Following his stint in the NFL, he played professional football in Italy, leading Seamen Milano to the team’s first Italian Super Bowl in 20 years.
Hilliard was a four-year safety at UCLA, seeing action in 41 games while earning 27 starts. He tallied 114 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception in his career. As a senior he was honored as the team’s Tommy Prothro Award for Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year and one of three Kenneth S. Washington Award winners for Outstanding Senior of the Year.
Hilliard graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA in 2013. He later added a master’s degree in higher education and organizational change in from UCLA in 2017.
Hilliard and his wife, Katrina, have a daughter, Naiya.
Personal Information
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Family: Wife – Katrina / Children – Naiya
Education: UCLA, 2012 (Bachelor's) / 2017 (Master’s)
Birthday: August 1
Hilliard Experience
2026-Present: Colorado State (Pass Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs)
2022-25: Connecticut (Passing Game Coordinator / Secondary, 2024-25; Secondary, 2022-23)
2021: Arkansas State (Secondary)
2019-20: Tennessee Martin (Passing Game Coordinator / Secondary, 2020; Passing Game Coordinator / Cornerbacks, 2019)
2015-18: UCLA (Defensive / Special Teams Analyst, 2018; Graduate Assistant - Defense, 2015-17)
Rams Live: David Anderson
Monday, December 08
Colorado State Football: Jim Mora Press Conference
Saturday, December 06
Rams Live Exclusive: Head Coach Jim Mora
Tuesday, December 02
Colorado State Football: Jim Mora Introductory Press Conference
Monday, December 01
