Feb. 9, 2010

Each day this week, msuspartans.com will take a look at one of the four early enrollees of the 2010 recruiting class: Le'Veon Bell, Joe Boisture, Max Bullough and Nick Hill. Today, Nick Hill is featured.

Hill's Profile | Hill's Highlights

Don't let Nick Hill's size fool you. In fact, Hill's 5-6, 182-pound frame is a benefit in his eyes.

"I actually think of my size as an advantage because I can hide behind the linemen," said Hill, who enrolled at Michigan State on Jan. 11 and will participate in spring practice. "That way the defensive backs can't see me until I hit the hole, but by then it is too late."

It certainly hasn't stopped him yet. The dynamic running back from Chelsea High School finished his career ranked third in the Michigan High School Athletic Association record books with 98 touchdowns and sixth with 6,910 rushing yards. Hill's most prolific season came his senior year, when he was named the 2009 Associated Press Division 3-4 Player of the Year after rushing for 1,989 yards and 33 touchdowns.

At Michigan State's signing day press conference Feb. 3, Hill took some time to meet with the media and talked about his decision to attend MSU, his early enrollment, and his first workout with his new team.

On the transition from high school...
It was a big adjustment from high school; I was kind of just thrown into it. But I found that I could adjust pretty well to it. I had a lot of support from other players and also from academic advisors. So the transition was actually pretty good.

On the current running back situation...
Well, it gives me a bigger opportunity to step on the field early. Le'Veon Bell is another running back that came in; both of us have a great opportunity to play early. So it just gives us a better chance this fall.

On why he chose to do early enrollment...
I wanted to get ahead academically and I wanted to get a jump-start on the program by playing spring ball. I also felt that the spring season will give me an opportunity to showcase my skills early on instead of waiting until this fall. Academically, I thought it would be a good idea so I could get ahead on my credits.

On how he thinks he will impact the team...
If I work hard, then I believe I will have the opportunity to play on the field this fall. I just believe that I will be a tremendous asset to the team this year.

On when he made the decision to early enroll...
I made the decision early on. I needed to decide before my senior season this past fall because I had to set my schedule the right way so I could come here this spring. So I made this choice before I even started my senior season last fall.

On if he worried about being able to play...
I wasn't too worried, even before some players left the team and there were a lot of running backs. I know that my time will come, even if it is later on in my career. Hopefully it comes early on though. But I know that if I work hard good things will happen. The only thing I control is how hard I work. If I have a good attitude and the right mindset coming in, then I know I will have a chance to play.

On his first Big Ten workout...
It was unbelievable. Even before we practiced, just walking around with those guys it was unbelievable how big and tall they are. Once we really get going I'm going to have some fun and it is going to be tremendous.