DT shines for the Florida squad

Marathon (Fla.) defensive tackle Phernando Hill was one many Floridian’s that performed well last weekend in the annual Florida/Georgia All-Star game. Rivals100.com caught up with the 6-foot-3 and 295 pound standout to get his thoughts and observations on the game along with the latest on his recruitment.

The Marathon high school senior didn’t have hype or name recognition as most of the other players on the Florida squad but that didn’t stop him from shining brightly by racking up four tackles, a sack and pressure from his loss from his defensive end position.

After spending almost a week living and practicing with some the nation’s finest prep football players, what were his thoughts on his experience?

“We played hard but came up short,” Hill, who has excellent quickness for his size, said. “The California team played well and they were very well coached.”

“Reggie Nelson was the most down to earth player on the team,” Hill said. “He was wearing a bunch of Florida stuff all week. Andrew Bain is awesome. It was tough going up against him in practice. Ernie Sims is the real-deal. He’s all muscle. I think he has around 0% body fat. Amp Hill and Cromartie hung around a lot. They were both wearing sunglasses and talking on their cell-phones a bunch. It seems like there were around 25 players on the team that say there are going to Miami. I think that Dwayne Bowe already committed to them and Dickson told me he was going to there as well.”

After his outstanding showing, what’s up next for the South Florida standout?

“I’m going to visit Ole Miss this upcoming weekend (1/10),” Hill said. After that I’ll visit Mississippi State (1/17), and South Florida (1/24). I’m also going to try and set up a visit with Florida State for (1/31).”

Hill, who has already visited Maryland, has the Terrapins and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the top of his list.

“Maryland is one of the top teams in the ACC now, and Mississippi State is on the verge of something special.”

Look for Hill to make a decision after he takes all of his visits first.