Jeremy Hills’ Austin training facility is a sports fan’s Narnia. Jerseys and posters of NFL players line the walls, but if you look around, those same athletes are working out right there inside the gym.

UT alumnus and former Longhorn running back Jeremy Hills is the head trainer and founder of The Factory, a sports training center within the Onnit Academy Gym that focuses on training athletes at a professional level. The Factory opened in 2015 and already has several high profile clients, such as ex-Longhorn and New York Buffalo Bills player, Aaron Williams.

Hill picked up his love for football from his family. Most of the men in his family were involved with football in one way or another.

“It’s a family tradition,” Hills said. “My uncles played, my dad played professionally and I have a brother who is still playing. It’s kind of like what we do. I fell in love with the game early on and still feel the same.”

When Hills began playing for UT in 2008, his love for the game only increased the more time he spent on the field at Darrell K. Royal Stadium.

“In my first two years, we only lost one game so it was always a good time,” Hills said. “We worked our asses off. We worked hard, we played hard, and we enjoyed the fellowship. You make lifelong friends in that locker room.”

After a leg injury in 2012 forced him to cut his time with the Longhorns short, Hills dedicated his career to helping other athletes achieve their goals. Although he did not initially know he wanted to be a trainer, he discovered his talent after helping several football players from his former high school in Houston.

“It kind of found me,” Hills said. “The new guys coming out of Alief Elsik (high school) would reach out to me to help them, performance wise. I would spend my free time helping them. Then they started getting scholarships and I realized I might be pretty good at this.”

His factory’s clientele was mainly built from trainees referring others to his gym.

“I always say that your work will speak for itself,” Hills said.

Though Hills’ gym is decorated with jerseys from his clients who play professionally, his facility maintains an atmosphere that humbles everyone who walks through the doors.

“You look around and you see all these jerseys from these guys but it’s a mindset that we have in here,” Hills said. “You can have your name on the back of the jersey but you come in here and you’re just a guy, so we start working.”

Seattle Seahawks free safety and fellow former Longhorn Earl Thomas trains with Hills at his gym. Thomas said he often praises Hills for his advanced level of expertise and passion.

“He’s been around the game forever and knows how to explain our drills in a way that relate to the field,” Thomas said. “He’s an overall good dude. You can tell he cares about you past being a player and is passionate about his craft.”

Even with his growing clientele, Hills still works to build personal relationships with his trainees. He said his favorite aspect about his job is simply seeing others reach their goals.

“The best part is helping guys achieve what they set out to achieve,” Hills said. “When that happens, and you go watch them perform on Sundays, and you see what you worked all those countless hours, days, nights, weeks, months doing and you see it in the game? There is not a better feeling.”

Correction: The original article stated that Brian Cushing worked with Jeremy Hills and the Factory. This is incorrect — Cushing has never worked with Hills or the Factory. In addition, Hills operates the Factory within the Onnit Academy Gym. The gym parternered with Hills and the Factory in December to run an NFL Combine prep program. Onnit Academy provided Hills with an facility that is open to public to work with former athletes. The Texan regrets these errors.