Can SRU’s Todd Hill win PSAC defensive player of the year in 1st season? ‘He definitely has a shot’
SLIPPERY ROCK — It’s not like Todd Hill hasn’t experienced success before.
Slippery Rock University’s senior defensive end was a three-time all-conference linebacker at Duquesne before transferring to Pitt last football season. He was unable to get on the field with the Panthers.
“I practiced well, learned a lot ... just couldn’t get any playing time,” the 5-foot-10, 240-pound Hill said. “I enjoyed my time at Pitt, but knew I had to go elsewhere if I was gonna play.”
So Hill entered the transfer portal, and that elsewhere turned out to be Slippery Rock.
“My son (Logan) was a teammate of his at Duquesne,” SRU head coach Shawn Lutz said of Hill. “He told me how explosive a player Todd was and that we should try to get him.
“I contacted him through the portal and told him he could be a big fish in a small pond, win our league’s defensive player of the year award, things like that. He has that kind of ability.”
And Hill’s shown that ability on the field.
Through six games this season, he is second on the team with 39 tackles, including 19 solo stops. His 10 tackles for loss lead the PSAC and his 5.5 sacks rank second in the conference.
No. 6 SRU is 6-0 (3-0 West) heading into a pivotal game against California (Pa.), which is also 3-0 in the division. With Hill leading the pass rush, The Rock are third in the conference in scoring defense (16.0 points per game) and second in yards allowed (243.8 per game).
“It’d be cool to be defensive player of the year, but that’s not why I came here,” Hill said. “I’m about winning and I want to win a championship. Duquesne reached the conference title game my freshman year, but we lost. I want to get another shot at a title, and I knew there was a winning tradition here.”
He also knew a Rock player who wanted to become his teammate.
SRU junior linebacker Cody Ross played football at Freedom High School. Hill played for Steel Valley High School and the two often went up against each other during those years.
“We’d play Freedom in the WPIAL playoffs, and Cody and I got to know each other,” Hill said. “We stayed in touch. After their loss to Kutztown (in the Division II playoffs) last year, Cody said, ‘We really need you here.’ That put the idea in my head right there.”
SRU was actually put in Hill’s head as far back as his freshman year in high school.
“I was going to a game at Steel Valley and their coach told me to check out Todd Hill,” Rock defensive coordinator Dom Razzano said. “The kid was starting as a freshman and the coach said I should offer him (a scholarship).
“There’s no way I could make an offer to a high school freshman. I did talk to him, though, and Todd remembers that.”
“I remember that well,” Hill said, smiling. “SRU was the first college team to talk to me. A kid doesn’t forget that.”
While most of his college playing career has been spent playing middle or outside linebacker, Hill was shifted to defensive end this season by The Rock.
He played defensive end in high school and Pitt planned to use him at that position as well.
“He’s so explosive, strong and physical,” Lutz said. “Todd has a will to get to the football. He plays football hard. We moved him to end because we didn’t want him to have to think. He’s got such a motor. We just wanted him to go.
“He definitely has a shot at defensive player of the year in the (PSAC) West.”
Razzano agreed.
“I’m not saying he’s going to win it. ... There’s a lot of great defensive players in our league ... but Todd’s as good as any of them,” Razzano said. “He’s extremely coachable and just loves to play football. His athletic ability is off the charts.
“Besides pressuring the quarterback, he’s excellent at stopping the run and taking away the perimeter. Even when he’s not in on the play, he’s impacting the play. He’s as good an edge player as I’ve coached, and we had college football’s all-time sack leader (Marcus Martin) play here.”
The statistics mean nothing to Hill.
“Play well and those numbers will be there,” he said. “I want that championship. I want to experience that feeling.”
