Loading ...Will Hill has faced a tumultuous last several seasons in his football career. In 2010, he was suspended from Florida University and then went undrafted in 2011. Last season he had to settle for playing for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. But now he has finally made it in the NFL as a member of the New York Giants after surviving the final roster cuts, proving hard work does pay off.
Hill first received some recognition after attending a rookie mini-camp in East Rutherford, eventually earning a minimum deal contract with no guaranteed money. He went on to shine in training camp and throughout the preseason, finishing with 14 tackles – ranking him third on the team.
The safety not only impressed on the field, but also put in timeless hours watching film to improve his technique and remember assignments. This is something the Giants' coaches took notice of, which ultimately helped him to earn his roster spot. And it looks like that off-field work is already carrying over. Hill has been arriving to the practice facility three hours early so that he can get some extra time to study the gameplan, he told Pat Traina of Inside Football.
“I wanted to get ahead of everyone else because everyone else is a veteran so they already know the deal, so I just tried to prepare myself as best as possible," Hill said.
Hill knows that making the team is only the first step to becoming successful in the NFL. He is prepared to put in the hard work that is necessary to ensure he remains an NFL player.
“I have to go out there and get better now – gotta go out there and grind and not make then regret their decision to keep me. Right now it’s a job, so go in and take every day like it’s a job and work, and that’s it. I’m happy but then again I’m not because I still have to go out there every day and work and prove myself every day," he added.
Hill is one of four safeties to make the final roster including Kenny Phillips, Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown (Tyler Sash will not count towards the roster because of suspension). With the injuries at the corner back position, Hill is also expected to see time as the nickel back.
Giants 101 Hall of Fame Re-Opens
As the season begins, we have decided to re-open the Giants 101 Hall of Fame and seek the next round of inductees. James Douglas (JD in Dallas) will be inducted into the Frank E. Kurczewski wing, while we will begin seeking nominees for the other two wings right now.
The Jonas Seawright wing is for players who were extremely hyped by the members here at Giants 101 before ever producing on the field. Inevitably, these players would fail to live up to said hype for whatever reason.
The Tim Carter wing is for players who flashed mightily during training camp and preseason(s), and were equally hyped here on Giants 101, but could never quite make it due to constant injuries.
No current players will be accepted nominees. Begin making your picks now!
Also…
- Be sure to like Giants 101 on Facebook, follow Giants 101 on Twitter & +1 Giants 101 on Google+
- Text "oneteam" to 20222 to donate $10 to the One Team for the Lights charity initiative.
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Short URL: http://sport-ne.ws/joe
Reposts:
Serby interviews the Black Unicorn:
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/serby_sunday_with_martellus_bennett_8lFmVDCcTLVmMTOmTOAL2J
Q: How much of an impact do you think you can make with Eli Manning as your quarterback?
A: I think we can be huge. I gotta keep growing though. I’m still learning the offense. I’m still learning some different things that he likes. It’s like when you first start a relationship with somebody, like you’re dating somebody, you don’t really know her that well. The more you go to dinner, the more time you spend, you start to know their likes, their dislikes, what makes them comfortable and uncomfortable, so I think we’re still at the first stages of our relationship as if we were dating.
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Interesting (and timely) column on the state of offensive lines in the NFL:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz-3466.html
“As I went through my tour of training camps, it struck me how one theme was constant wherever I went: offensive line play is a concern. Every team had some sort of issue up front on offense. I don’t believe there is a coaching staff in the league that is completely comfortable with its offensive line.
There is no question line play has deteriorated in recent years. Neither individual linemen nor offensive line units are what they used to be. So I started to ask people what they thought the reasons were. Here are some of the theories I heard.”
Really? So he’s saying that it isn’t only the Giants and that ultra stubborn Jerry Reese that are struggling to put together a dominant Offensive line? Hogwash I say!
Really excited about this kid. e has the talent to be a pro bowl caliber Safety in the NFL.. TC and JR just need to keep him off twitter…
I believe Clint Sintim deserves some “Tim Carter” consideration.
Anthony Mix says hi too
Michael “Gold Teef” Jennings….
You know … considering the OL … maybe the age of big, powerful, hulking players is fading. Look at how the LBers and SSs are getting smaller and faster. Perhaps it’s time to look at 270 lb OLmen who can move … instead of 310 lb monsters with feet in cement.
Think about it … not a lot of sacks are bull rushes. Most are speed moves or blitzes. You have to be quick and smart to negate that. Blowing people off the LOS is great, but protecting the QB is way more important.
You’d have to do more traps and misdirections in the run game to compensate for power … but plenty of teams do that anyway.
Maybe it’s just that the game is changing for the offensive line … and teams are having problems adapting.
As for Hill … I’d like to retain a little skepticism, but I watched this kid in practice several times … and he’s the real thing.
Now I’m not ready to declare him the second coming of Troy Polamalu yet. But he’s not just a camp wonder. He can play. And sometimes the light does come on … IMHO.
Preseason video highlights of Ojomo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GvudiqTQ0
A couple things were impressive. One … he got better … and two … sometimes he got double teamed.
Really great montage
Shows a lot of profession between preseason game 1 and 4
I hope this kid is not red shirted every week
Progression
FWIW, here’s a link to a post I made a few weeks ago that offered some speculation on the reasons behind the decline in offensive line play leaguewide.
http://tinyurl.com/9h73oo5
Some of the ideas presented are not all that different from those contained in the National Football Post article linked by TOGM earlier.
Would anyone be able to hook me up with one of those “Super Bowl XLVI Ch4mpions” scarves if they are going to the game on Wednesday?
In the Seawright wing I humbly nominate Duke Calhoun.