Better Know a Buckeye: K.J. Hill

The 26th and final installment of this year's Better Know a Buckeye series profiles K.J. Hill, a wide receiver prospect from North Little Rock, Ark. Hill was one of two signing day additions to an otherwise loaded 2015 recruiting class. He also joins Grant Schmidt (South Dakota) and Branden Bowen (Utah) as firsts of their respective states to sign a letter of intent with Ohio State's football program.

Let that fact prime the reader about Hill's recruitment. An Arkansas prospect, Hill was originally committed to the Razorbacks from late last August to mid-January of this year. It may have been the Crimson Tide to induce Hill to look elsewhere, though Florida hosted his first official visit and Chris Ash diligently recruited Hill on behalf of Ohio State. What followed was a three-team battle among Arkansas, Alabama, and Ohio State in the few weeks before signing day before Hill selected and signed with Ohio State on signing day.

I retell this story below. Afterward, I provide a scouting report for a gifted wide receiver prospect. I discuss the possibility of a redshirt in 2015 before concluding with highlight film at the end of the feature.

HIS RECRUITMENT

Ohio State offered Hill a verbal scholarship on March 19, 2014. The Buckeyes were not his first offer nor were they arguably his biggest. By that point, Hill held offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas (since September 2013), Georgia, Louisville, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, and Texas Tech.

At this point, Ohio State may have been another name on a list of schools previously considered by a prospect who was going to sign with an SEC program. Prospects from Arkansas do not travel far, and, by that point, never to Ohio State. Alabama, though, had made considerable inroads in Arkansas high school football.

Notwithstanding additional offers from marquee programs like Florida, Oregon, and Tennessee, Hill's recruitment gave no real indications it would be anything other than a two-horse race between Arkansas and Alabama. Arkansas produces some quality talent despite its size, though the Razorbacks' program does well to keep that talent in-state. Meanwhile, Alabama is the SEC's dominant program and a credible threat to coax another state's elite talent to Tuscaloosa.

Through the spring and summer, it looked like Arkansas would win this recruiting battle. The state's highest-ranked prospect, Bielema's program signaled to Hill that he was a top priority when five coaches on the Razorbacks' staff visited him on May 30, 2014.

Hill attended an Arkansas camp two weeks later. Not long after an unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa to see a Crimson Tide practice, Hill made another unofficial visit to Fayetteville. Two weeks later, he committed to Arkansas. 

For Hill, Bielema's pitch to stay home while on his latest unofficial visit induced him to commit to the Razorbacks. Further, Hill was close friends with  Will Gragg (who later committed to and signed with Arkansas). Both wanted to play college football together.

Hill had been committed for several months, but that did not stop Alabama from keeping pursuit. It also did not prevent Ohio State from taking further interest in flipping him to Ohio State. Hill had a great relationship with Chris Ash (previously at Arkansas) and fancied Ohio State from a distance.

Perhaps Hill just had an itch to explore. He had also expressed an interest in Florida, which hosted his first official visit for the weekend of the LSU game. This might have been attributable to KeVaughn Allen, who was committed to Florida to play basketball for Billy Donovan. Allen and Hill come from the same high school and are quite close. Further, Hill is also a talented basketball player who may have earned more scholarship attention if he made that sport a focus.

The visit to Florida may have been Hill's first hint that his commitment was wavering, but Alabama was more actively pushing the bounds of Hill's Arkansas commitment. Hill gave more indications he was rethinking his commitment to Arkansas when he visited Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl on his own dime.

A series of in-home visits from Arkansas coaches and Alabama coaches followed, leading to a long-awaited official visit to Alabama. Two days later, Hill decommitted from Arkansas.

I know this will disappoint many, but after careful consideration I am re-opening my recruiting and deconmiting from Arkansas!!

— KMFJ (@KayJayHill) January 18, 2015

There is some confusion about what exactly led to this announcement on Twitter. One contributing factor may have been the loss of Jim Chaney. Chaney, then Arkansas' offensive coordinator, left Fayetteville for a position on Pat Narduzzi's first staff at Pittsburgh.

Like the subject of last week's profile, Hill may have been given something akin to an ultimatum on his visit to Alabama. Alabama had a spot for him, but he needed to accept it immediately. At the least, he may have needed to signal to Saban's staff that he was serious about eschewing his prior commitment to Arkansas.

Hill decommitted from Arkansas, but had a big visit planned the coming weekend at Ohio State. Hill had great things to say about this visit, recounting his positive interactions with Vonn Bell and Johnnie Dixon. He also got to hold the College Football Playoff championship trophy the Buckeyes had just won a few weeks earlier.

Thereafter, both Urban Meyer and Nick Saban made in-house visits to North Little Rock. His recruitment was going into signing day. Fortunately for Ohio State fans, crystal ball projections started swinging toward Ohio State Feb. 3.

HIS COMMITMENT

On signing day, KJ Hill committed to Ohio State and faxed his letter of intent to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He and Isaiah Prince were the final two additions to a star-studded 2015 recruiting class.

In a follow-up interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Hill highlighted several factors that led him to leave Arkansas and the SEC footprint for Ohio State. He had rave reviews for the overall "fit" of the program, including things like the tradition of Ohio State football and the atmosphere surrounding it.

He had good things to say about how Urban Meyer handled his recruitment down the stretch, but made sure to give Chris Ash proper credit. Chris Ash knew K.J. Hill well from his one year at Arkansas and lobbied hard for Hill to get on Ohio State's radar and vice-versa.

WHERE HE EXCELS

Watching K.J. Hill with the ball in his hands is quite a treat.

It's more than just "making people miss". Certainly, fans will see the proverbial broken ankles and get excited. Hill's footwork and balance with a football in his hand are special. However, watch Hill tip-toe a sideline in the film you will see below. He has an incredible knack about where the sideline is and how to use that to his advantage with the ball in his hands.

Fans should be worried about any wide receiver highlight film they see that features a prospect catching passes with his body. That's not K.J. Hill, though. His hands are quite strong and he uses them to high-point footballs. Further, there are a few examples of him stretching out his hands to catch a ball directly over him. Fans may not appreciate how subtly difficult of a catch that is and how much hand-eye coordination is required to make it look effortless.

Finally, Hill is not particularly big or strong, but he runs big and strong. Hill was a versatile player for North Little Rock's offense. The offense would try to get him the ball in many ways possible. He was great on end-arounds and attacked the edge hard. If you remember Bret Bielema's Wisconsin offenses, you may understand why he could be such a high priority for his program in Arkansas.

MUST WORK ON

Hill will benefit immensely from a football conditioning program. His time playing basketball helped him become a more versatile athlete, though a dedicated football conditioning program will maximize his potential at receiver.

He does well in open space, will star in the screen/bubble game, and can find holes in zone defense. At the moment, though, Hill is not much of a route-runner. That becomes much more important in college football.

REDSHIRT?

I think Hill plays in some capacity in 2015. I will defer judgment on the scope of his contribution, but Hill is good enough to see the field in the first week against Virginia Tech.

HIGHLIGHTS