More Steps On Long Climb Of Hill
8/21/2000 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 21, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Shaun Hill always believed he was good enough to play quarterback at the nation's highest level of college football. But for the longest time, few shared that belief.
Now, though, after a journey that included two years at a junior college and the ability to remain hopeful even as prospects grew dim, Hill is challenging to be Maryland's starting quarterback.
"He really is very much in the mix," Coach Ron Vanderlinden said.
How Hill entered the mix is quite a story. It started last fall, when cornerback Lewis Sanders told Vanderlinden there was a good chance that if he had a good season he was going to skip his senior year and enter the NFL draft.
Knowing how thin the team was at cornerback, the coaching staff decided to recruit junior college players at that position, hoping to quickly fill an immediate need. It was on a trip to pursue cornerbacks that Maryland quarterbacks coach Mike Gundy stumbled upon Hill, who was attending Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
While most junior college athletic programs serve as a last-chance stop for athletes who have academic deficiencies, Hill had gone to Hutchinson because he was not ready to give up his goal of becoming a big-time quarterback. As a senior at Parsons (Kan.) High School, he played on an inexperienced team that often ran the ball, as a result, he had just five touchdown passes the entire season, a number that failed to catch the eye of college recruiters.
None of the few schools that recruited Hill were particularly interested in his quarterbacking skills. Washburn University wanted him to punt and play safety, Pittsburg State wanted him to punt and play tight end.
Hill had other wants.
"I think I can play quarterback for you," he told coaches from Pittsburg State.
Their response: "Well, if you want to play quarterback, then we're going to have to ask you to walk on" instead of receiving an athletic scholarship, Hill retold the story.
"I don't understand why [more college teams] didn't come after Shaun, I never did understand that," said Charlie Nally, Hill's coach at Parsons. ". . . One of the small schools, its coach said he didn't pass the eye test. I threw him out of my office."
So Hill decided to go to Hutchinson Community College, nearly three hours to the west, to earn a shot at the big time. He beat out six other quarterbacks to start as a freshman, then went through four roommates in three semesters as the others quit the team and the school.
So when Gundy was in Hutchinson Coach David Wheeler's office to discuss a cornerback, Wheeler asked, "Y'all looking for a quarterback?"
"Not really," Gundy told him, explaining that Maryland had returning starter Calvin McCall and backup Latrez Harrison, each of whom had three seasons of eligibility remaining. Gundy also knew the Terrapins were recruiting Seneca Valley High School star Chris Kelley, who would soon commit to Maryland.
But Gundy agreed to watch Hill at practice that afternoon and was impressed. He called Vanderlinden back in College Park and relayed the information. Gundy returned to Maryland with tapes of Hill in action at Hutchinson and the Terrapins decided to ask Hill if he wanted to visit the campus, where they planned to offer him a scholarship. The decision was swayed in part by several injuries that seriously affected North Carolina's quarterbacking corps. If nothing else, Hill would be a nice insurance policy.
From Hill's perspective, it was like a dream come true. Though the junior college season was nearly complete, he still was without a major-college scholarship offer. Maryland was halfway across the country, but the location hardly mattered. The only other school showing interest was South Carolina, which went winless in 1999 and had yet to decide whether to offer Hill a scholarship.
A few days after visiting College Park, Hill decided to become a Terrapin. He quickly went to a sporting goods store in Parsons and bought the one Maryland hat in stock for his brother. Soon after, Gundy's younger brother, Cale, who is the running backs coach at Oklahoma, read of Hill's commitment to Maryland and called his brother.
"Is that you?" Cale asked Mike. "Who's that kid? He's not even on our list or anything."
In this day and age, with an increasing number of football Internet sites and recruiting newsletters and magazines, there is almost no such thing as an unheard-of player. However, Maryland found one. The question was, would Hill be insurance for McCall? Or after passing for 1,688 yards last season in junior college despite guiding an option-oriented offense, would Hill contend for the starting position on a team that struggled to develop a passing game?
It did not take long to answer those questions. While McCall missed the first week of spring practice while playing basketball, Hill shared repetitions with Harrison. After McCall returned, it was apparent Hill had some advantages. Despite a big frame, Hill proved he is a strong runner and not afraid to turn the ball upfield running the option.
In the annual spring game, Hill was easily the best of the three quarterbacks, completing 13 of 16 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown. He was the only one to lead the second string on a touchdown drive.
Entering the fall, McCall is still the starter and will be given every opportunity to retain his position. However, if Hill can continue playing at a high level, there stands a good chance he could beat out McCall and take most of the snaps this season.
Vanderlinden has played down the situation, saying that he has three able quarterbacks and plans to play more than one during the season.
Hill has had no problem blending in with his new teammates and earning their respect. In addition to his performance on the field, he has been something of a leader in the Terrapins' spacious weight room. He doesn't shout at teammates or yell encouragement, instead quietly telling others to pick up their intensity when needed. Hill has lost 15 pounds, to 218, and reconfigured his body, adding muscle.
"He's a worker, he's smart, takes coaching and he's eager to learn," Gundy said. "He is fairly mobile for a big guy and shows some signs of toughness. At some point, he will play this season. He did well in the spring, but Saturdays in the fall are a big difference."
Back home in Parsons, a community of 12,000 tucked in the southeast corner of Kansas, Hill is becoming a celebrity. Parsons is best known as the home of Bill Guthridge, who retired as North Carolina's men's basketball coach this summer. Now, though, it is becoming known as Shaun Hill's home town. His father, Ted, says he is amazed at the number of people who congratulate him on Shaun's success. And it is a given that most of the town's televisions will be tuned in when Maryland is on the air.
Shaun Hill is glad he stuck it out.
"I felt like I could play quarterback," said Hill, whose only previous trip to the Washington area was on a family vacation when he was 8. "I'm confident in my own ability. I knew that I could do everything that needed to be done and work hard enough to get to where I could become a good quarterback."
