Henry Hill (American football)
Encyclopedia
Henry Hill is a former American football
player. He played at the defensive guard
position as a walk-on for the University of Michigan
from 1968 to 1970. He was chosen as the co-captain and Most Valuable Player on the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team
and a first-team All-American
that same year.
, Hill is the youngest child in a family of five boys and two girls. He attended Detroit's Martin Luther King High School where he played football at the tight end
position.
Interviewed in 1970, Hill recalled, "I was a tight end in high school and I didn't get many scholarship offers because my size was marginal. You don't see too many 5-10 tight ends around." Hill enrolled at the University of Michigan on a Michigan Opportunity Grant, a scholarship offered to under-privileged students with strong academic backgrounds. Interviewed by a reporter from the UPI
in 1969, Hill said, "It's an academic scholarship. One of those kind they give to ghetto kids. My family was too poor to send me to school."
Hill tried out for the Michigan football team at the invitation of George Mans
, Michigan's offensive ends coach. He recalled that, during his try-out, they threw a ball to him, and the ball bounced off his head, resulting in his being converted into a lineman. He played briefly for Michigan's freshman football team in 1967 but quit mid-way through the season to concentrate on his studies.
By the time the 1968 football season began, Hill had been promoted to second-string status. The coaching staff was impressed by Hill's quickness, and he played in all 10 games for the 1968 team, including 7 games as the starting middle guard. His rise in 1968 from the fourth-string to starter was so rapid that his picture did not appear in the team's 1968 game program. The Toledo Blade in October 1968 ran a feature story on Hill and noted: "At 5-10, 200 pounds, Henry isn't big enough to play to play Big 10 football. Try telling that to Henry. ... Hill is a walk-on (non-scholarship) who made it big for the Wolverines. He's small, but he is tough, and he loves to play football." Hill finished the 1968 season as one of Michigan's statistical leaders on defense with 72 tackles, including 50 solo tackles and 16 tackles for loss.
Hill was routinely double-teamed in 1969 and 1970. Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler
said of Hill, "I don't think any team in the country can adequately contain Hill with one-on-one blocking." Hill expressed frustration at being double-teamed, but recognized its value to the team: "Sometimes, I'm even getting triple-teamed on the pass rush. But that's got to help our defense so it's okay with me. If they do that, it leaves eight or nine men to play offense and we have ten men to play defense." Hill was named United Press International's Midwest Lineman of the Week after recording nine solo tackles and two assists against Minnesota
in 1969. Following the game, Hill explained to reporters "with a trace of incredulity" in his voice, "They didn't double team me."
In Michigan's rivalry game against Ohio State in 1969, he had 13 tackles, leading The Michigan Daily to note that Hill had demonstrated to his Ohio State counterpart, All-American Jim Stillwagon
, "just who is the best middle guard in the conference."
, serving as co-captain with quarterback Don Moorhead
. He started all 10 games as the Wolverines middle guard on defense and accumulated 69 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss. At the end of the 1970 season, Hill was selected by his teammate as the team's Most Valuable Player along with Don Moorhead. He was also selected by the Central Press Association
in 1970 as a first-team All-American and by the Associated Press
as a second-team All-American.
When Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan's coach in 1969, Hill acknowledged being "a little overweight" at 223 pounds. When Hill told the new coach he could run 40 yards in 4.6 seconds, Schembechler said, "Aw come on, you're kidding me." To Schembechler's surprise, Hill proceeded to run the 40 in 4.6 seconds.
Hill was not selected in the 1971 NFL Draft
, and the omission of the "cat-quick" middle guard was reported as one of the "conspicuous absences from the draft lists." Hill noted that he didn't expect to get drafted, although he added he would like a chance to become pro.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played at the defensive guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
position as a walk-on for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1968 to 1970. He was chosen as the co-captain and Most Valuable Player on the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team
1970 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1970 college football season. The team's head coach was Bo Schembechler...
and a first-team All-American
1970 College Football All-America Team
The 1970 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Central Press Association, Football Writers...
that same year.
Early years
A native of Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Hill is the youngest child in a family of five boys and two girls. He attended Detroit's Martin Luther King High School where he played football at the tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
position.
Walk-on status
Because of his size, Hill was not heavily recruited by major college teams.Interviewed in 1970, Hill recalled, "I was a tight end in high school and I didn't get many scholarship offers because my size was marginal. You don't see too many 5-10 tight ends around." Hill enrolled at the University of Michigan on a Michigan Opportunity Grant, a scholarship offered to under-privileged students with strong academic backgrounds. Interviewed by a reporter from the UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
in 1969, Hill said, "It's an academic scholarship. One of those kind they give to ghetto kids. My family was too poor to send me to school."
Hill tried out for the Michigan football team at the invitation of George Mans
George Mans
George W. Mans is a former American football player and coach and politician. He was the captain of the 1961 Michigan Wolverines football team, an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan from 1966 to 1973, and the head coach of the Eastern Michigan Eagles football team from 1974 to...
, Michigan's offensive ends coach. He recalled that, during his try-out, they threw a ball to him, and the ball bounced off his head, resulting in his being converted into a lineman. He played briefly for Michigan's freshman football team in 1967 but quit mid-way through the season to concentrate on his studies.
1968 season
In the spring of 1968, Hill tried out for Michigan's varsity football team. He made the cut and was listed as a fourth-string defensive lineman at the conclusion of spring practice. Damer recalled, "I just stuck it out, figuring I'd get to play some."By the time the 1968 football season began, Hill had been promoted to second-string status. The coaching staff was impressed by Hill's quickness, and he played in all 10 games for the 1968 team, including 7 games as the starting middle guard. His rise in 1968 from the fourth-string to starter was so rapid that his picture did not appear in the team's 1968 game program. The Toledo Blade in October 1968 ran a feature story on Hill and noted: "At 5-10, 200 pounds, Henry isn't big enough to play to play Big 10 football. Try telling that to Henry. ... Hill is a walk-on (non-scholarship) who made it big for the Wolverines. He's small, but he is tough, and he loves to play football." Hill finished the 1968 season as one of Michigan's statistical leaders on defense with 72 tackles, including 50 solo tackles and 16 tackles for loss.
1969 season
In 1969, Hill started all 11 games for the Wolverines at the middle guard position on defense and also started three games as a guard on offense. He led the team with 90 tackles during the 1969 season.Hill was routinely double-teamed in 1969 and 1970. Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
said of Hill, "I don't think any team in the country can adequately contain Hill with one-on-one blocking." Hill expressed frustration at being double-teamed, but recognized its value to the team: "Sometimes, I'm even getting triple-teamed on the pass rush. But that's got to help our defense so it's okay with me. If they do that, it leaves eight or nine men to play offense and we have ten men to play defense." Hill was named United Press International's Midwest Lineman of the Week after recording nine solo tackles and two assists against Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
in 1969. Following the game, Hill explained to reporters "with a trace of incredulity" in his voice, "They didn't double team me."
In Michigan's rivalry game against Ohio State in 1969, he had 13 tackles, leading The Michigan Daily to note that Hill had demonstrated to his Ohio State counterpart, All-American Jim Stillwagon
Jim Stillwagon
Jim Stillwagon is a former all star American college football player and Canadian Football League player.Stillwagon was a three-year starter with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a consensus All-America selection as a junior and senior, and won the Outland Trophy and was the first-ever winner of...
, "just who is the best middle guard in the conference."
1970 season
Hill was selected as the defensive captain for the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team1970 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1970 college football season. The team's head coach was Bo Schembechler...
, serving as co-captain with quarterback Don Moorhead
Don Moorhead
Don Moorhead is a retired American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1969 and 1970 and for the BC Lions from 1971 to 1975...
. He started all 10 games as the Wolverines middle guard on defense and accumulated 69 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss. At the end of the 1970 season, Hill was selected by his teammate as the team's Most Valuable Player along with Don Moorhead. He was also selected by the Central Press Association
Central Press Association
The Central Press Association was an American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers.-History:Virgil Venice...
in 1970 as a first-team All-American and by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
as a second-team All-American.
Reputation for quickness
Hill developed a reputation as one of the quickest players at his position, as reflected in the following comments from football reporters:- Prior to the 1970 Rose Bowl1970 Rose BowlThe 1970 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1970. It was the 56th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 10–3...
, a Southern California newspaper said of Hill: "Quickness is his biggest asset. He is as fast as any player on the team, has great upper arm and shoulder strength and is strong enough to keep from being knocked out of a play." - In November 1970, the Associated Press ran a feature story referring to Hill as a "cat-quick" middle guard whose "forte is superquick lateral movement."
- The Christian Science Monitor referred to Hill as "the 'unblockable' middle guard Henry Hill."
- The Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote, "Tho not physically imposing at 5-11 and 220 pounds, he uses great quickness to blow past a blocker."
When Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan's coach in 1969, Hill acknowledged being "a little overweight" at 223 pounds. When Hill told the new coach he could run 40 yards in 4.6 seconds, Schembechler said, "Aw come on, you're kidding me." To Schembechler's surprise, Hill proceeded to run the 40 in 4.6 seconds.
Hill was not selected in the 1971 NFL Draft
1971 NFL Draft
The 1971 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1971.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
, and the omission of the "cat-quick" middle guard was reported as one of the "conspicuous absences from the draft lists." Hill noted that he didn't expect to get drafted, although he added he would like a chance to become pro.