Khalid Hill: Michigan's Human Battering Ram
"I'm being called to score touchdowns, but don't make too much of it. I'm just doing my job. Coach (Jim) Harbaugh trusts the fullbacks to produce first downs and touchdowns, and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. But it's good that Coach trusts you in short-yardage situations. For goal-line situations, to have him call on you, to produce, I want to be able to be that guy. Call on me, because I will get that first down."
Hill cut to the right on his four-yard touchdown run against Hawaii and didn't have enough daylight to score. Bulls don't need daylight, though. They just ramble through the china shop with no concerns about paying for the damages. Hill bounced off and plowed through the Rainbow Warriors for his first collegiate touchdown in the opening game of his third season of playing at Michigan.
"They had three huge dudes in the middle," Hill joked, "and so I wasn't just going to run into three huge dudes. I tried to get away from them. So, I just went to the side, saw a gap open and popped my way in."
ESPN analyst Ed Cunningham told viewers: "Obviously a load when he gets started."
Source: Steve Kornacki, MGoBlue.com, 9/11/2016
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091116aab.html
September 12th, 2016 at 1:15 PM ^
September 12th, 2016 at 3:43 PM ^
Love the way Hill is playing.
With that said, I sat in Section 4 and called all the FB dives and people thought I had some crazy ability to predict plays.
No, for awhile there every single time Hill came into the game, ESPECIALLY when he wasn't in one 1st down...it was a CLEAR tip we were going to run the dive.
I'm guessing the coaches don't trust Poggi with the ball or Hill is just that much better of a runner (likely).
I know some will say "it doesn't matter if they know it's coming...ram it down their throat" because we've all been taught MANBALL since birth...but that's not accurate. That play is also effective because it's unexpected and the LBs are reading the RB and react too late to the FB who only needs a couple of yards.
Anyway, we're tipping our hand with Hill and it's going to be even more obvious as the year goes on. Houma would play the entire series and Kerridge usually would as well. So there was nothing.
But if we have 2nd or 3rd and short and we bring in Hill, bet your ass it's a FB dive. Better teams are going to be able to defend the play at a lot better than these teams we're playing now.
My hope is Hill progresses as a blocker, he's already the better runner and he's got great hands. We just need him to be able to block as good as Poggi and he'll be the better FB.
Even if he's not, get him in on some plays where you fake the dive and do the misdirection pitch to the RB in the opposite direction. Or fake to Hill and get McDoom/Chesson on a fly sweep. Fake to Hill and hit Butt over the frozen LBs for a little "pop pass."
If you don't trust him to run block, let's use him in a bunch of other ways so it remains just as effective against stiffer competition as it does now.
Some idiot blogger in Section 4 shouldn't be able to guess the playcall so doggone easily.