Hill is a Bear
Back in the summer, Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds defensive lineman Derrick Hill had a solid top two of USC and Cal. Although the Trojans don't lose many head to head battles on in-state prospects, Hill decided he wanted to stay a little closer to home and committed during the Army All-American game to the Bears.
We knew the Bears were looking good for Hill after talking with his teammate and good friend Joshua Tatum the day the linebacker committed to USC. Tatum said he was going to be recruiting like crazy and when we asked if he thought Hill would follow him to USC, Tatum said there was no chance.
Advertisement
"No, he's all Cal," Tatum told us at the time. "He loves Cal and really wants to play for the Bears. Derrick wants to stay closer to home and be near his friends and family. I'm not even going to talk to him about it because I know his mind is made up."
Following his visit to USC in mid-December, Hill told us Cal was still his leader which was another pretty strong indicator of where he was headed.
"I just really like it at Cal," Hill said. "It's where I've always felt most comfortable and I really like Ken Delgado, the DL coach there a lot. He's the coach I'm the closest with and Cal has been recruiting me since my sophomore year. They offered me at their camp and I've been going to their camp for years so it's like a second home for me there. I'm looking to come in next year and do some damage right away."
In addition to Cal and USC, Hill also took visits to Colorado, Oregon and Arizona.