DT Sammie Hill is Showing His Athleticism

It is a big enough transition to the NFL when players are coming from the top-tier programs in college football.

It is an even bigger challenge for NFL rookies when they haven’t seen a steady stream of top competition throughout their collegiate careers.

What does that mean, then, for a player coming out of a Division II school?

The Detroit Lions selected defensive tackle Sammie Hill in the fourth round out of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Stillman’s average enrollment is 1200 students with more than 75 percent of the student body being from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and Illinois.

When Hill graduated from West Blocton High School in Alabama, not a single Division I school offered him a scholarship to play football. At the time, Hill weighed approximately 285 pounds as a middle linebacker compared with his current 330-pound frame.

He ended up receiving a scholarship from Stillman and ultimately played defensive end in a 4-3 scheme.

“You probably could have put all three of (the other defensive linemen) together and I was still bigger than all of them,” said Hill.

So why play him at end in a 4-3 scheme when he was so much larger than everyone else?

According to Head Coach Jim Schwartz, Hill’s coaches wanted to cut off one side of the field to keep the opposing team from running in that direction. Almost like an infield shift in baseball or, as Schwartz references it, the way defensive back Deion Sanders used to cover.

“He would take one half of the field away,” said Schwartz of Sanders. “They did the same thing (with Hill) in the run game. It wasn’t because they didn’t like him in the (middle in the) run game, it was that they had a comfort level that if he was on one side that the opposing team wouldn’t even try to run over there. That way they could scheme the opposite way.”

That’s all well and good when Hill was a 285-pound lineman, but what about when he continued to gain weight and peaked around 330 pounds?

“Every year when I was in college, I would probably gain five pounds each year,” said Hill. “Then for recreation time I used to play basketball, but after my junior year, I stopped playing because I found out that I might have a chance to play in the NFL.”

It was when he stopped playing basketball that he got significantly bigger, but he remained at the defensive end position.

That fact alone shows the type of athlete he is and it is what stands out to Schwartz as this weekend’s rookie orientation continues.

“What’s rare for a man that big is how athletic he is,” said Schwartz. “He is very, very light on his feet. He moves through all the drills really, really well and has natural physical gifts; natural strength, natural quickness, natural balance – those are all good things.”

Hill entered college at 285 pounds and progressively gained until he peaked around 330 pounds. “He’s a naturally big man,” said Schwartz.

As a defensive end, Hill didn’t even like pass-rushing as much as he preferred stopping the run – something that, at mention, causes his face to light up. But even though pass-rushing wasn’t his strength, he made do; posting 7.0 sacks his senior season, though he says he actually had 10.5.

His strength and passion, though – stopping the run – will work just fine in Detroit’s defense, which will be geared toward funneling the run inside.

“We’re just going over scheme day-by-day,” said Hill of this weekend’s orientation. “Not really everything, but just day-by-day they’re just teaching us what we’ve got to do.”

It will undoubtedly be a significant transition for Hill. Though he is a gifted natural athlete, particularly at his size, players can often get away with poor technique when they are so physically superior to their opponents.

That is what Hill experienced at Stillman, which is why Schwartz’s top priority is to work on his pad level and use of hands.

“In this league, everybody’s good, everybody’s big,” said Schwartz. “Every time you step up in competition, that stuff becomes more and more important. He had a brief stay at the East-West game, but the one thing I liked about him after one day of practice is that he didn’t look out of place. He was able to adjust.

“Great athletes and people like that can rise with the level of competition. He looks like he will be able to do that.”

That may come with time. For now, Hill is looking to adjust with his fellow rookies. His first practice was a bit of a kick in the teeth, so to speak, jarring him because of its fast pace and high level of competition.

“The first day – I’m not going to say I was in great shape, but I got kind of winded,” said Hill. “The speed of the practice, I’m not used to it. But today I felt very good. Yesterday I was breathing hard just talking. But I’m good right now.”

When Hill goes back home for two weeks before returning to Allen Park on May 18, he is planning to work with his strength and conditioning coach to prepare him for the Lions’ offseason program.

Hill was hoping to get back to Michigan sooner than that date, but was told it wasn’t permitted.

“I tried to get back before, but I don’t think they’ll allow that,” he said. “But I’ll definitely be back on the 18th.”

That will signify yet another step higher in competition with the veterans and rookies working together for the first time.

“It’ll be hard, but I’m going to work hard at it and I’m pretty sure that I’ll do just fine with great coaching and everything,” said Hill. “I think I’ll benefit through what’s going on. I’m just working hard right now so when it comes that time, I will work even harder to get better with them.”

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