Click here to view the recruiting card of Will Hill
 |
|
Will Hill picks Virginia |
Eight hats – representing Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and UVa – were placed on the table where Lafayette (Williamsburg, VA) defensive end Will Hill sat to announce his college choice. The 6-4, 260-pound prospect stacked five of those hats on top of one another, leaving just Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia. A few moments later, Hill picked up the UVa hat, saying, “It’s time to put UVa on the map.”
This morning, Hill became the 22nd high school senior to verbally commit to the University of Virginia.
“Penn State is a special place, but I just felt like Virginia was where I needed to be right now,” Hill said following his announcement. UVa was the first program to officially offer Hill last fall.
Prior to the announcement, Hill had publicly narrowed his list of schools to four – Maryland, Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia. Hill admittedly grew up a Tennessee fan and says he “liked” the University of Maryland as well, but in the end the decision came down to UVa and Penn State.
“I kind of knew the decision, but I was torn back and forth with Penn State,” Hill said.
“I mean, both [Virginia and Penn State] were like the same. The distance was different. And there is the top tradition at Penn State, which is different, but I’m going to try to do that at UVa. I mean, Penn State’s playing USC in the Rose Bowl. We’ll be playing USC my sophomore year, so it’ll be the same competition.”
The decision was a close one for the Rams senior, who took official visits to Maryland, Penn State and Tennessee and numerous unofficial visits to UVa before coming to this decision.
“I don’t know if I made the right decision yet, but hopefully I did,” Hill said. “I just looked at a little bit of everything.”
A two-time all-state performer, Hill earned VHSCA All-Region I Defensive Player of the Year for his senior season performance. He finished the 2008 year with 92 tackles including 24 tackles-for-loss and 14 sacks, earning Bay Rivers District Defensive Player of the Year honors as well.
“He’s such a technician first,” Lafayette head coach Paul Wheeler said. “He is very conscientious of his fundamentals. He is not one of those kids with God-given 4.5 speed. He has worked to make himself really solid. He is very coachable. He may be more of an inside player in college. He’ll get bigger with work in the weight room and he’ll be a smart player. I just foresee him being a very solid football player.”
A terrific student, Hill carries a 3.6 grade point average and has scored 1,100 on the SAT. He has already has his transcripts approved by UVa Admissions for January 2009 enrollment, so he plans to be in Charlottesville next month.
“All I’ve got to say about [Hill enrolling early] is that he is ready, as a person and as a student,” Wheeler said.
“Virginia is getting a wonderful person, student and athlete. He has worked to earn everything as a football player and as a student. He is very deserving of this opportunity and the University of Virginia is getting a very good football player, but I think more importantly they are getting a very good person. A lot of it is attributed to his parents and his family. They did a real good job with emphasizing education. It is a breath of fresh air to have a family like that.”
