The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sitting Down With Redshirt Freshman Safety Daxton Hill Freshman safety Daxton Hill, a former five-star prep recruit, pledged to Michi- gan before decommitting for Alabama, and then surprisingly inked with U-M on National Signing Day. He is earning more and more playing time as the season progresses and forced an interception by diving and breaking up a pass against Iowa. He spoke with the media for the first time in mid-October. The Wolverine: What was it that made you decommit from Michigan on a whim like you did? Daxton Hill: "[Alabama was] hard on me. I really didn't know where my head was at that time." The Wolverine: What made you come back into the fold? Hill: "Just how I felt with everybody — the coaching staff, the players and just the school overall. That's the biggest reason why. "Coach [Sherrone] Moore was my recruiter. Just getting to talk to him every day, him talking to me every day, I got a good bond with him. He was one of the biggest reasons why I came here, just how I felt with him. I knew that's how the other coaches would be too." The Wolverine: What's been the biggest difference or toughest adjustment between high school and the college game? Hill: "Just trying to get acclimated to college in general, trying to balance school and football at the same time. That's the biggest difference from high school. "[On the field] it's just performing in practice. That's really the biggest difference. If you want to get on the field, you really have to perform in practice. I think that's where I got my chance." The Wolverine: You have played a number of positions throughout your football career. Why safety, and does de- fensive coordinator Don Brown like you better at safety or nickel back? Hill: "I came into high school trying to play receiver. They just moved me because I guess they liked the movement in my hips. That's the biggest reason I started playing safety. It wasn't really a first day thing where I always wanted to play safety. That's just the position I was moved to. "Coach Brown just moves me in positions where I can help the defense. Each week it depends on the personnel the offense is playing." — Chris Balas Hill contributed 14 tackles, 1.5 stops for loss and one pass broken up in Michigan's first seven games this season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL pass-blocking grade, while his run- blocking grade is 83.1," Liskiewitz explained. "Eighty-five for us is elite, so he's right there. A little more con- sistency from him in all facets will get him there. "Onwenu has only allowed six pressures all year in pass protection, to go along with no sacks. The only two games where he gave up more than one pressure were against Wis- consin and Iowa, but those have been the only two real opponents Michi- gan has faced so far [Liskiewitz said this prior to U-M's matchup with Penn State]. "It's not like he had awful games against those two, though. In gen- eral, he's been solid and only needs to work on a couple mental errors here and there. I think he can remain among the elite. He's either the first or second [best guard in the country]." Liskiewitz also had similar compli- ments for Thomas, despite the fact that the junior 's sample size was relatively small through the squad's first six games. "He only has one reception al- lowed in coverage longer than 13 yards," the PFF analyst began. "He hasn't given up yards after the catch of more than 10 all year, and I think that was a short underneath pass against Illinois. "Thomas is not giving up big plays and is contributing against the run, with five run stops. The one thing I will caution with him — and this is typical of all corners — is that de- spite the number of reps he's had, the sample size with him in cover- age is pretty minimal. He's only been targeted 21 times, and 13 of those were catchable or contestable, and he's allowed nine receptions with two picks. "He's done really well in that area, though it's not a huge sample size. 'The more data, the better ' is what we always say, so let's see how he pans out. When I watch him on film, I don't think there's anything he can't do — he looks great in all facets. "That coverage data doesn't rep- resent off-target throws, where it's clear his coverage is very, very tight, regardless of whether it's a catchable ball or not. I've been very impressed with Thomas' overall work so far." ❑