North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: A Bitter Pill For Hill and Pack
7/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
On Wednesday, NC State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley and kick return specialist Darrell Blackman were named to the ACC’s annual preseason team. Wolfpack tight end Anthony Hill wasn’t voted onto the squad, but if his name would have shown up on the list, it wouldn’t have been all that shocking.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the news that Hill will miss the upcoming season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery on Wednesday was a major downer for coach Tom O’Brien’s first Pack football team. Hill, both physically imposing and gifted, if nothing else, had already established himself as one of most impressive looking tight ends in the league. Standing 6-6 and weighing 265 pounds, the senior is also blessed with tremendous speed for a player of his size.
There’s very little doubt that opposing coaches were at times doing double takes when watching Hill on tape last season. Showing flashes of his enormous pontential over the previous two seasons, Hill was becoming a major figure on the radar screens of NFL scouts. And from an NC State standpoint, he was certainly slated to be one of the Pack's feature performers on offense this fall.
The trickle down will be significant.
To begin with, NC State wasn’t going to have a wealth of depth at the tight end spot in the first place. Marcus Stone and Matt Kushner, listed behind Hill on the depth chart, have limited experience at the position. Stone, of course, was a quarterback the first half of last season before becoming an experiment at tight end. Kushner is also a convert after coming to NC State as a defensive lineman.
Of the two, Stone is the better pass receiver, while Kushner the more superior blocker. Hill could do both effectively.
Although he did suffer through some inconsistencies with his pass catching last season, Hill still led the Pack with 45 receptions, 15 more than any other player. In 2005, he set a new NC State record for tight ends with eight knockdown blocks in NC State’s victory at
This year, Hill was going to be given a chance to put up monster numbers in new coordinator Dana Bible’s system, which puts an emphasis on keeping multiple tight ends on the field and getting the football in their hands. In fact, tight ends coach
Hill’s injury won’t change the NC State offense, but will likely force Bible to re-access his play-calling and formation priorities.
What other options are out there? There is redshirt freshman Rashad Phillips, a highly thought of player from
The wild card may very well be junior college transfer R.J. Armstrong. A preseason JUCO All-American at
Never one to make excuses, O’Brien is already trying to prevent Hill’s injury from putting a damper on his football team, saying “injuries are a part of the game.”
Next Friday, the Pack will hit the practice field to begin preparations for the upcoming season. For players like Stone and Kushner, opportunity will be knocking. On the coaching side of things, O’Brien and Bible have already been formulating a backup plan. Fortunately, both men have seen a little bit everything during their combined 62 years on the sidelines.
Unfortunately, however, Anthony Hill will be joining them on those same sidelines this season.
