Cats move up for top DL in the West
Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds defensive lineman Derrick Hill took an official visit to Arizona this past weekend. It was the second visit of the year for Hill and from the sound of it, the Cats are now a major player for the top tackle in the West region.
Hill, 6-1, 280 pounds visited Colorado two weeks ago and was in Tucson this past weekend.
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"Arizona moved way up my list," Hill said. "Going in to the visit, I was mainly looking at Cal and USC but I would put Arizona right with those two right now. I had a great time and can't really think of a single negative from the trip. Even though Arizona lost, they outplayed Oregon and deserved to win. They're close to turning the corner and me and NaDerris (Ward) were talking that they're just a few players away from being real good.
"I met all the coaches and players and hit it off with everyone. Coach Kish has been recruiting me hard for some time now and it was great to sit down and spend time with him. I spent a lot of time with Coach Tuiasosopo too since he's the defensive line coach there. He told me that I would have a chance to play early there because they need defensive tackles like me and that's a big deal for me.
"What I'm really looking for in a school is a comfort level and a place where I can just go and play football. I'm not into a lot of bells and whistles and things like that. I'm a pretty low key guy and I just want to play ball and fit in and Arizona definitely gave me that feeling."
Along with bonding more with the players and coaches, Hill also had a chance to meet a former McClymonds and Arizona standout, Marcel Wade.
"He's a cousin of my coach at McClymonds," Hill said. "He was the first Parade All-American to come out of our school in the late 80s and he had offers from everyone but chose Arizona. He still lives in Tucson and he can relate to me coming from the inner city and all. He was saying how Arizona was a great fit for him and things like that so it was cool talking with him.
"I was also really impressed with Coach Stoops. He wants to win and they have a lot of young players on the team that are committed to winning. You can definitely tell a difference between the players Coach Stoops brought in and the older players. The younger guys just seem a lot more intense and focused on winning and I liked that."
Hill will take a few weeks off and then has a visit to Oregon set up for (Nov. 18) followed by December visits to USC and Cal.