Former Wekiva stars Davis, Hill cherish All-ACC selections
The Wekiva High football team was loaded three years ago, and those highly-touted Mustangs players are proving the Class of 2018 was not a bunch of hype.
Several still are doing their thing, especially Tyler Davis, a junior defensive tackle at Clemson, and Brandon Hill, a redshirt sophomore safety at Pittsburgh. Davis, who was a second-team all-ACC pick as a freshman, was selected first team this season and Hill made second team.
“It’s always good seeing those guys doing well,” Davis said of his ex-Wekiva teammates, which included Hill, Norell Pollard at Virginia Tech, Renardo Green at FSU, Rian Davis (injured) at Georgia and Dwight Lawrence of Stetson. “Brandon’s doing his thing at Pitt. He had a great game against us.
“We’re still Wekiva in blood.” Joining Davis on the all-ACC first team was N.C. State safety Tanner Ingle, who is from Dr. Phillips.
Another local first-team selection was Daytona Beach Mainland product Nathan “Tank” Dell, a receiver at Houston. Dell was selected first team all-American Athletic Conference.
On the Football Championship Subdivision level, Southern Illinois safety Qua Brown of Orange City University High was a first team all-Missouri Valley selection. Ocoee defensive back BJ Bohler of Florida A&M earned first-team all-SWAC.
On the junior college level, former Jones and UCF defensive lineman Raymond Cutts of Garden City (Kan.) Community College was named NJCAA All-American, and ex-Mainland and Florida safety Jonathan Huggins, also of Garden City, was second-team all-American.
The success of the former Wekiva stars might come as a surprise to some, but those who recruited them had high expectations.
During the recruiting process, many college scouts said Davis, at 6-foot-1, 290 pounds, was too small to play at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Being named all-ACC shows why he was ranked so high coming out of high school.
He was the No. 1-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2019 Central Florida Super60, and the 247Sports composite rankings had him as the No. 12 defensive tackle in the country.
“It’s a great accomplishment and one of my goals I had coming in,” Davis said of earning first team all-conference.
Davis, who is now listed at 6-foot-2, 300 pounds, was glad Clemson offered him a scholarship and he’s very happy to be a Tiger. He’ll be playing in Orlando in the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday night at Camping World Stadium.
“It’s really, whatever,” Davis said of those who did not have confidence in his ability at the next level. “I just focus on myself. I don’t focus on what other people say.
“It’s very cool [at Clemson], being around all of the guys, my teammates, all my brothers. It’s a home away from home.”
Many scouts pictured Hill having great success in college, but Florida, FSU and Miami didn’t even bother recruiting him. He had 24 scholarship offers, but Pitt won him over. He’s quite proud of his all-ACC second-team selection.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to be recognized as second team all-conference in the ACC,” Hill said. “It feels great and I can only thank my teammates who helped me along the way and the great coaching staff we have here.”
The honor was a little surprising.
“It’s just a lot of hard work that went behind it and a lot of preparation,” Hill said. “I just use the mindset of always trying to do the best I can do.”
Hill said having three players from Central Florida make all-ACC speaks volumes for the type of players produced in the Orlando area.
“We have guys who are football players who are ready to play ... put their heads down and work,” Hill said. “Guys from Central Florida are hard workers, they’re dawgs.
“When you see guys like myself, or guys like Tanner or Tyler or guys like Guyson [BJ] Bohler and they’re going on to D-I colleges and still producing ... In Orlando, we got some players there.”
Hill is a big reason why Pittsburgh won its first ACC championship this season, and he’ll be playing in the Peach Bowl against Michigan State on Thursday night in Atlanta. Hill is part of the foundation built under seventh-year head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“We are just a group of guys who are close on and off the field and we just come together and want to play for each other and I feel like that’s really helped us,” Hill said.
“It’s just about focusing on the motto ‘We, Not Me,’ and not thinking about just ourselves but the whole team and how I can benefit the team. That played a big part in our success.”
Hill has taken on a leadership role in the secondary at Pitt. He had 67 tackles and an interception this season.
His biggest fan is his mother, Adrienne Hill, who is always touting the accolades of her son on social media.
“She means the world to me. Even since I first put on a helmet she’s been there supporting me,” Hill said. “Having her on my side through all of this has made everything better. There are days that are going to be hard and she’s always going to be able to help me get through ...
“Having her there has really helped me and I can’t thank her enough.”
Local players on all-conference teams:
Football Bowl Subdivision
ACC
Tyler Davis (Wekiva), JR, DT, Clemson, 1st team
Tanner Ingle (Dr. Phillips), JR, SAF, NC State, 1st team Brandon Hill (Wekiva), RS-SO, SAF, Pitt, 2nd team Jashaun Corbin (Rockledge), RS-SO, RB, FSU 3rd team
SEC
Jalen Carter (Apopka), SO, DL, Georgia, 2nd team
Big Ten
Kerby Joseph (Jones), JR, SAF, Illinois, 2nd team
Sevyn Banks (Jones), SR, CB, Ohio State, honorable mention Pac-1 2
Carson Wells (South Sumter), JR, LB, Colorado, honorable mention AAC
Nathan ‘Tank’ Dell (Mainland), SO, WR, Houston, 1st team Marcus Tatum (Mainland), SR, OT, UCF, honorable mention Conference USA
Evan Anderson (Jones), FR, DT, FAU, honorable mention
Football Championship Subdivision
Ivy
Chad Broome-Webster (Trinity Prep), SR, OL, Brown, 2nd team Missouri Valley
Qua Brown (Orange CityUniversity), SR, DB, Southern Illinois, 1st team
PJ Jules (Jones), SO, CB, Southern Illinois, honorable mention
SWAC
B.J. Bohler (Ocoee), SR, DB, Florida A&M, 1st team
Junior college NJCAA All-Americans
Raymond Cutts (Jones), SO, DL, Garden City (Kan.), 1st team Jonathan Huggins (Mainland), SO, SAF, Garden City, 2nd team