Jacob Hillman was named assistant strength and conditioning coach for South Florida football in January of 2026.
He came to Tampa after two seasons as director of football performance at Eastern Illinois. He saw offensive center Rahfeeq Katumbusi earn First Team Freshman All-America honors from Phil Steele in 2025 and 12 players earn all-conference honors. He helped the Panthers produce six all-conference players in 2024.
He previously served as a Graduate Assistant strength coach at Eastern Michigan, working with the football program and several Olympic sports including women's rowing.
Hillman also served as intern on The Ohio State University Football Strength & Conditioning Staff in the spring of 2023.
He Holds CSCS Certification through NSCA and is certified in Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED.
A four-year member of Iowa State football program playing tight end, Hillman earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State in 2023 and earned Academic All-Big 12 honors. A native of Gilbert, Iowa, he began his collegiate football career at Illinois Wesleyan University. His father, Aaron, serves as director of sports performance operations at Penn State and previously held the role of director of player development at Iowa State. His mother, Dina, was a standout field hockey player winning three NCAA National Championships at Old Dominion.
