Will Hill probably never heard the word "disappointed" associated with his name before.
When you score 28 touchdowns while also being one of the hardest hitting safeties in the country in your senior year of high school, "disappointed" doesn't really come to mind.
Until you come to a program with athletes who have those same type of stats and accolades, that is.
When Dorian Munroe was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee over the summer, it appeared Hill, who decided to play safety full time at UF, would be the favorite for the starting strong safety job next to Major Wright. A lack of sound practice habits and not understanding UF's defensive system showed otherwise.
"We were all kind of - I hate to say disappointed - but we were at first," UF coach Urban Meyer said of Hill when he arrived in the fall.
So, like many other Gators before him (think Reggie Nelson, Louis Murphy and even current freshman Jeff Demps), Hill had to make an impact on special teams before he would see any quarterbacks throwing his direction or running backs rumbling toward him.
"The rite of passage for us for a young player is special teams," safeties coach Chuck Heater said. "(Hill) started making all those tackles on kickoff, and then he was kind of turning the corner. That's validation for us when he's being productive on special teams, and then you feel like he's ready to make that move (to defense)."
It's official. The Gators have a three-safety rotation with Wright, Hill and Ahmad Black.
"It's exactly like we thought (he would be)," Meyer said.
Hill is not going to be taking a starting spot from Wright or Black anytime soon, but he will be getting his fair share of snaps now in addition to his special teams work. Wright called Hill, who is seventh on the team with 28 tackles, "grown up."
Hill's dreadlocks don't make him look like an old man, but his newfound maturity has been seen on the field.
"At first he was playing a little timid, but now he's playing like the five-star he is," cornerback Joe Haden said.
Playing like a five-star high school prospect is apparently just the start.
"I feel that I can play better," Hill said after UF's 63-5 win against Kentucky, a game in which he had a team-leading 11 tackles. "Coming in with all the accolades, it didn't mean anything to me. I just knew I had to wait my turn, and when I got my turn, make the most of it."
The Monday after the Kentucky win, Heater's wife even told him he needs to find a way to get the trio of Wright, Black and Hill all on the field at the same time.
That usually doesn't happen with safeties, but Heater said they did it last year with Tony Joiner.
"He's come a long way," Heater said. "It took him a while to acclimate and learn how to go, and then about the time he was about to get going he strained his hamstring and that set him back. Now he's back in a situation where we're trying to find some ways to get him out there."
With the way he's played recently, getting him out there would be a good idea.
