Tigers will get final summer visit before Hill trims list

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Jun 26 17:26:33 GMT-04:00 2012

Update 6/27/12: Michael Hill commits to Ohio State on Wednesday

Defensive tackle prospect Michael Hill Michael Hill
Defensive Tackle
6-3, 315
Pendleton, SC
View Full Profile will be on the Clemson campus Wednesday for a final visit, and then hopefully trim his list to two schools by Thursday.

Hill is the 2013 4-star prospect out of Pendleton (SC) who has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Ohio St., South Carolina and Tennessee. The 6-3, 315-pounder’s head coach at Pendleton, Paul Sutherland, told TigerNet on Tuesday that the Clemson visit will be Hill’s final summer visit.

“He will conclude his visits this week, and he has stuck to his plans,” Sutherland told TigerNet. “He wanted to get on all of the campuses this summer and he will conclude that by going to Clemson. In the beginning, we wanted to start with the in-state schools and we are going to conclude it with the in-state schools. He went to South Carolina last week and will be at Clemson on Wednesday. After this, he will narrow down his list on Thursday. He has been on all the campuses he wanted to see, and I will say this alphabetically – Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, South Carolina and Tennessee.”

While most of the Clemson coaches are on vacation, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive line coach Dan Brooks will be on hand for the visit.

“He will have his workouts at the school in the morning,” Sutherland said. “And I just got off the phone with Coach Brooks, and after Michael gets done with the workouts here I will take him over to Clemson and he will spend the rest of the day and evening there. He told me he wants to trim his final list down to anywhere from two to five schools, hopefully closer to two than five.”

Sutherland said that Hill hasn’t given any indication of what his final list will look like, but he does have an idea of the type of system that Hill wants to play in.

“He is a kid of very few words,” he said. “He has enjoyed every one of his visits and liked every one of the campuses. But he hasn’t talked specifically about any schools. I know that as a kid growing up, his favorite team was Ohio St. The only thing I will say that gives me any leeway, anything concrete, is he has told me he is more comfortable playing in a four-man front than a three-man front. He is definitely a 3-technique defensive tackle.”

Sutherland said that the lure of having family close by to watch Hill’s games may also be a determining factor.

“If you had asked me when this process got serious, about four or five months ago, I would have bet my house that it would be Clemson and Georgia Tech,” he said. “That still may be true, because that is where his family is. He has family here in this area, and he has more family in Atlanta than he does here. That is where he is originally from, and his mom is still there. But Georgia Tech plays a three-man front, so I don’t know.”

Following the visit, Sutherland said he will meet with Hill on Thursday to discuss the list.

“Where we go from here on out is up to him,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure we started with the in-state schools and finish with them. The Clemson coaches have him all day tomorrow. I just know I will never have another one like him.”