Rookie Hill ‘makes a difference’ for Lions defense

When the Detroit Lions drafted Sammie Lee Hill in the fourth-round of this year’s NFL draft, there was talk that he might not be able to contribute right away.

It’s a big enough jump to go from playing Division I football to the NFL, let alone starting from the Division II level at Stillman College.

Head coach Jim Schwartz has been pleasantly surprised at the impact the rookie has had, which has been most evident since Hill missed three games with an injured ankle.

The Detroit News, Oct. 29: “His size makes a difference for us. We talked about getting bigger and Sammie was a big part of that. He is a big wide body in there and I think we realized maybe a little bit how much we’ve missed him,” Schwartz said after practice Wednesday referring to Hill’s absence from the lineup the last three games because of an ankle injury.
“It speaks well for him that we’re missing a guy that maybe coming into this year in the draft we didn’t count on relying on so much. But when we watched our cut-ups from the first six games, when he was in there and when he wasn’t in there, there was a difference.”

Part of Hill’s contributions come from the fact that the Lions aren’t in any shape to turn down the services of a 6-foot-4, 330-pound defensive lineman.

But what’s important is that he’s making an impression while getting playing experience. Sometimes circumstances just dictate that a rookie is going to have to either sink or swim.

Hill is proving he can swim, and the Lions hope his wake only gets bigger.

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