The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2019 can watch his highlights. He's got so many clips where receivers are just a non-factor, because he just bullies them at the line. We've sent him on a couple of blitz packages, moved him down to outside linebacker, sent him off the edge. "You can just see how fast he gets in the backfield. He's just blowing kids up at the handoff, right at the mesh point. He's just unreal with his speed and then with his physicality. He really roams that secondary. He looks for the big hits, and he'll knock kids out." The combination could be one rea- son why talk arose about Hill po- tentially learning the viper position at Michigan, the hybrid linebacker spot crucial and highlighted in Don Brown's defense. Hill acknowledged the discussion, but noted not long ago he'll be starting out at free safety. He'll be looking to use all his tools to execute the man coverage expected by U-M defensive backs. That's an area in which he's not cowed by any receivers he's encountered. "Safeties aren't really supposed to do that all the time," Hill said. "They're usually a deep guy who spies the quarterback. I'm thankful that I have the talent to cover, and I think it's a big part of my game." Again, Blitch confirms that notion, with a physicality reminder. "He's a big kid," the coach said. "He's no string bean out there. He's thick, and he can lay the wood. He comes downhill hard and makes plays. "He could play a little bit of out- s i d e ' b a c k e r. He's kind of a hybrid. He can definitely play that strong safety role and come down in the box some." As hard as Hill comes across on the field, he's hardly the embodiment of a self-absorbed athlete away from it. Quite the opposite. Blitch has seen the hype machine go into overdrive about his star player in recent years, and watched Hill ignore it and go about his busi- ness efficiently and sans an over- wrought ego. "They're getting a special, special athlete," Blitch noted of Michigan's coaches. "They're getting a guy that just puts in the work, every day, on the grind. "He's one of the most humble peo- ple I've ever been around. He goes in, does the work, makes exceptional plays and does it all without getting a big head about everything. "He's had a lot of attention around him these last couple of years. He doesn't really talk about it or play into DID YOU KNOW? • In the 2018 season opener, he posted 22 tackles and a TD catch in a 29-28 loss to eventual 7A Arkansas state runner-up North Little Rock. Hill's squad reached the Class 6A, Division II state semifi- nals with an 8-4 mark. • As a senior, he also had 13 receptions for 360 yards and seven touchdowns at wide receiver. • At Nike's The Opening, he had a 40- yard dash of 4.3 seconds, which would've been tied for the fastest time recorded at the 2018 NFL Combine and would have been tied for the ninth-fastest time at the NFL Combine since 2006. • He also had a vertical leap of 43.6 inches and a shuttle run of 4.22 seconds at The Opening. The vertical jump ranked fourth at The Opening combines in 2018 and would've led all players at the 2018 NFL Combine. • His Nike+ Football Rating of 143.76 was the second best in the country. U-M wideout Dono- van Peoples-Jones won the Nike Football Rating Championship in 2015 with a score of 149.49, running a 4.42 40 and leaping 43.5 inches. • At the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association 6A State Championship in 2017, he was part of a 4x100 relay team that finished 13th in the state. • His brother, Justice Hill, was a running back at Oklahoma State and will be in the 2019 NFL Draft. • Did not allow a reception at the All-America Bowl in San Antonio. THEY SAID IT • Rivals.com Midwest recruiting an- alyst Josh Helmholdt: "Dax is one of the most dynamic playmakers in this 2019 class. He's got great size, he covers like a cornerback and he hits like a linebacker. I would put him up there with [2018 All-Pro safety as a rookie] Derwin James and [former U-M star] Jabrill Peppers and some of these other great defensive backs that have come out in the last 5-10 years." • South Carolina quarterback re- cruit Ryan Hilinski, who competed against Hill at the All-American Bowl: "When I go up to the line of scrimmage I'm always looking away from him. He's just a guy that covers so much space with his speed, and he's so fluid with all of his motions. "He's long too; that's the hardest thing to judge. I'll try to throw an out route, and he'll get a finger on it. I'll be like, 'Dang, I thought I had that.' He doesn't even look like he's trying that hard yet either, and he's still balling out. When he really takes it up a level, what is he going to do? He's a beast." Hill was named Oklahoma's 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year, and he also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors for the state from USA Today. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh "He's got the ability to be one of the best safeties Michigan has ever had."