cowboyjoe
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Sport change for Stillman DT Sammie Hill
3:00 PM Thu, Mar 26, 2009 | Permalink
Rick Gosselin E-mail News tips
Looking at Sammie Hill, you can see why his future is in football. The NFL found him at tiny Stillman College in Birmingham, Ala., and invited him to its combine in Indianapolis last month. At 329 pounds, Hill is exactly what the NFL envisions at nose tackle. But Hill once envisoned himself hitting baseballs, not running backs.
As a junior in high school, Hill defined the term power hitter, batting .506. A first baseman by trade, Hill saw himself as the next Cecil Fielder.
"That was 45 pounds ago," Hill mused.
But football moved from the back burner in his life to the front as a senior in high school.
"I had a slump in baseball and hit only .289," Hill said. "That was a big drop from my junior year. I couldn't see a beach ball if they tossed it up there two miles an hour. I lost my love for the game."
Even though he had two schools recruiting him for baseball (Concordia and Shaw) and only one in football (Stillman), Hill elected to give up baseball. Wise choice -- 330-pound college nose tackles have a better professional future than .289-hitting high-school power hitters. Hill became a two-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection on his way to the NFL.
3:00 PM Thu, Mar 26, 2009 | Permalink
Rick Gosselin E-mail News tips
Looking at Sammie Hill, you can see why his future is in football. The NFL found him at tiny Stillman College in Birmingham, Ala., and invited him to its combine in Indianapolis last month. At 329 pounds, Hill is exactly what the NFL envisions at nose tackle. But Hill once envisoned himself hitting baseballs, not running backs.
As a junior in high school, Hill defined the term power hitter, batting .506. A first baseman by trade, Hill saw himself as the next Cecil Fielder.
"That was 45 pounds ago," Hill mused.
But football moved from the back burner in his life to the front as a senior in high school.
"I had a slump in baseball and hit only .289," Hill said. "That was a big drop from my junior year. I couldn't see a beach ball if they tossed it up there two miles an hour. I lost my love for the game."
Even though he had two schools recruiting him for baseball (Concordia and Shaw) and only one in football (Stillman), Hill elected to give up baseball. Wise choice -- 330-pound college nose tackles have a better professional future than .289-hitting high-school power hitters. Hill became a two-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection on his way to the NFL.