John Diarse saw up close the improvement Kenny Hill has made

Kenny Hill is hoping John Diarse forgives him.

Diarse has a black eye after taking a pass to the face from Hill last week during a tryout camp in Tampa, Florida.

Diarse slipped while making a cut on a route and he was unable to get his hands up quickly enough to prevent the pass from hitting him near his right eye. An inch over and it could have been a serious injury for Diarse.

Diarse and Hill were two of 22 seniors working out in front scouts and staff from 31 of the 32 NFL teams Friday morning at TCU Pro Day.

"That’s just a tough deal," Hill said. "He slipped out of the break and the ball was already in the air. I felt so bad. [His eye] shut quick. But he looked alright today, it looked like his eye was working. But I definitely felt bad when I hit him."

No hard feelings from Diarse, who said he's fine, although his eye is still bloodshot and he's still sporting a bruise.

"Kenny put it right on the money, just like he did today," said Diarse, who joked that Hill has picked up some velocity after working out in California. "Apparently, my hands weren’t ready. He went to California and did something special."

Hill, who attended Southlake Carroll and Texas A&M before transferring to TCU, hopes NFL scouts are noticing.

"I feel like the ball was jumping out of my hand. I thought the day as a whole was solid. I thought my footwork was good," he said.

The only snag, Hill said, was tripping at the start of his first 40-yard dash. Instead of stopping and restarting, Hill resumed the run. Scouts don't mind if players restart a drill. Hill didn't know that.

"I didn’t know any of that. I ran the second one pretty good," he said with a laugh. "I wish I could have that first one back."

He connected with Diarse for a long pass completion to end the work out.

Diarse told him they needed to end the day with a completion and "finish it out like we always do."

"He said, 'I got you,'" Hill said. "He went out there and snagged it. It felt good."

Both are hoping to impress an NFL team by the time the draft goes down April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. If not drafted, they both hope to sign as free agents. Diarse, who along with a friend and a cousin has started a clothing line called YFF Clothing and Apparel, could find work as a special teams player, if not a receiver.

"His strength is going to help him," Patterson said of Diarse. "He's got strong hands, he's very mature. He’s a bigger, more physical player than a lot of wide outs."

Patterson praised Hill's improvement since beginning his NFL draft preparation in January.

"Kenny is zipping the ball better right now than he’s ever thrown it. He’s very athletic and he’s got a really good football IQ," he said. "and he’s a competitor, and coaches like that."

Hill joked that he was hoping to get a discount on some of Diarse's threads but the shot to the face may have ruined his chances.

"I think any discount I would have had got taken away when I hit him in the eye," Hill joked. "I'm continuing to work and doing the things that have gotten me up to this point. Hopefully, I'll get drafted and it’ll be a dream come true if I do."

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 5:09 PM with the headline "John Diarse saw up close the improvement Kenny Hill has made."