Will justice be served for running back Hill?
STILLWATER — Only halfway into Booker T. Washington’s 2014 season opener, Hornets coach Marvin Dantzler sought out the parents of young running back Justice Hill.
Their boy had separated a shoulder in the first half of an early showdown with No. 1 Midwest City, yet Hill, even as a high school junior, might still be needed.
“We put (the shoulder) back in at halftime and we go out and I’m looking his mom and dad in the face and I say, ‘If I need him to play, I’m going to play him,’” Dantzler said. “Sure enough, he goes out and catches a pass for the only touchdown we score on offense; goes 51 yards.
“He only touched the ball one time in the second half, but it’s a 51-yard touchdown. We win the game. But more importantly, it let me know what kind of kid he was. To have that kind of grit, against a
very, very good Midwest City defense at the time, and on a big stage, that play stood out.”
Now at Oklahoma State as a true freshman in a crowded backfield that features three seniors and another returning player with experience, Hill continues to stand out, maybe enough to command a significant role.
The Cowboys seek life for their running game. And while much chatter spurring optimism focuses on backs Chris Carson, Barry J. Sanders, Rennie Childs and Jeff Carr, there’s fresh buzz hovering around Hill.
“I think you’re going to be very surprised when you see him run,” said OSU defensive end Jordan Brailford, who played that 2014 season with Hill at Booker T. “He’s a very strong back for a freshman. He has really good vision. I think he can really help us out this season.
“He’s had a great camp, from what I’ve seen.” Others have seen it, too. The raised eyebrows on Hill actually came well before preseason camp, all the way back to when the freshmen reported to school for the summer. Hill didn’t look or act or work like a typical freshman. He didn’t test like one, either, posting attention-grabbing measurables, like a 38.5-inch vertical leap and a 4.43 time in the 40 under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass.
“You can kind of tell he’s come out of a really good program,” Glass said. “They did a great job with him over at Booker T. He’s trained. He’s really conscientious. And he’s like a sponge, always trying to learn more. Those things are big plusses.
“Sometimes freshmen come in and they’re kind of lost, just trying to find their way. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’d already been here a year, the way he carries himself and is a mature kid. He’s pretty serious about his approach. He’s definitely a cut above there.”
This freshman is bidding not only to break through a long list of running back candidates with the Cowboys, he’s threatening to break out.
No starter was listed on the team’s first official depth chart released Thursday. It reads Carson or Childs or Sanders … or Hill. And Mike Gundy said Carr belongs in the mix as well.
That’s a crowd, to say the least, perhaps to be sorted out by performance on Saturdays.
“We’ve got to compete and after a game or two, we’ve got to figure out who our best backs are and go with those guys,” said offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
For now, there’s caution and brake-tapping from coaches when it comes to Hill.
“He hasn’t taken a live snap yet, so we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves here,” Yurcich said.
Still, there he is on the depth chart, seemingly on even footing with the veterans. And he’s also slotted to return kickoffs alongside Sanders.
Dantzler isn’t surprised, not after what he witnessed for three seasons at Booker T. As a junior and senior, he totaled 3,384 rushing yards and 54 touchdowns, often facing eight- and nine-man fronts designed first to slow Hill.
“We had a hard time not playing him as a freshman at Booker T.,” said Dantzler, now coaching in Louisiana. “In fact, I think he got an injury and that’s why he didn’t play earlier at Booker T., or he would have had over 5,000, 6,000 career yards as a Hornet.
“What I think is going to help him play early there, he’s not afraid to go in and battle. He’s very, very confident in his own ability.”
That confidence, along with a burst the other backs lack and a make-you-miss element that could benefit a scuffling offensive line, is what’s put Hill in play right away.
“I think Justice sees himself as a big-time college football player,” Yurcich said. “So it’s not like when he got here and started having success, it got to him. That’s how he perceives himself. That’s good.” The burst is also good. Last season, when the Cowboys ranked No. 113 nationally in rushing at 126.8 yards per game, the backs rarely made yards on their own. They produced just 14 runs of 20 yards or longer and two of the five longest scampers came from former quarterback J.W. Walsh. And of the 14, nine came against the likes of UTSA, Central Arkansas, Central Michigan and Iowa State.
Hill has shown a burst, against OSU’s top defense this preseason and in the tests with Glass.
“The vertical jump has a big correlation between your speed and explosiveness,” Glass said. “Guys who have high vertical leaps are usually guys who are really explosive on the field.
“A 38.5, that’s good. That kind of number is going to put him in the 98 percentile.”
Hill is strong, too, a rare freshman able to reach 1,000 pounds in combined bench, squat and clean lifts in the weight room. There’s a sense among coaches and teammates that Hill is different, maybe special. Maybe now. “To be honest, as his coach,” Dantzler said, “you would kind of like to see him pace himself, get in and learn the system and all of that. But I always say, if a kid’s ready, he’s ready. Don’t slow him down.
“That’s the thing about Justice. I told people, ‘They’re struggling with their ground game, he’s going to go in and compete and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets on the field early.’”