Hill's journey to the NFL Draft

Former Saluki quarterback training for the NFL

Nick Hill

Issue date: 2/5/08

Editor's Note: The following column was written by former Saluki quarterback Nick Hill who has been training for the NFL Draft. Hill recently played in the Texas vs The Nation Bowl and completed two of six passes for 14 yards while being sacked four times. Hill played in four series for The Nation that managed 189 yards of offense in a 41-14 defeat.

To everyone back at SIU, from now until the NFL Draft in April, I will continue to keep you updated on the happenings in my life.

Right before Christmas I signed with Andy Simms, a sports agent who owns Players Rep Sports Agency out of Cleveland. Signing with an agent was an exciting but also difficult time. It reminded me a lot of the recruitment process I endured prior to college. Throughout, there were many agents calling and telling me all the positive things they saw in me as a quarterback and, along with that, the many prospects they foresaw in my future if I were to sign with their agency. Ultimately, it was up to me, with the help of my family, to find the right guy for me - a guy that fit my interests the best and that would work hard to help me achieve my goals. In the end, I feel confident I have found that in Players Rep.

The next thing I had to do was choose a place to train. I decided to train in Cincinnati with Cliff Marshall at Ignition Sports. Cliff Marshall was the strength coach at the University of Louisville. He was also a strength coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, and currently trains professional athletes at Ignition. Thus, I am now living in Cincinnati, in a hotel suite, training everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In this training, we work on speed, strength, flexibility and position work. There is a nutritionist and sports psychologist that works with us as well. In addition to myself, there will be about 12 other college athletes training here trying to make it to the next level.

The main reason I chose to train here was because of the individual attention I would have the opportunity to receive. Unlike the small numbers we have here, most other training options carried anywhere from 30 to 50 players.

The past week I spent in El Paso, Texas where I was in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Bowl. It was a great opportunity for me to play with some of the best players in the country and show NFL scouts that I can play at the highest level. During practice every NFL team was represented and I feel like I had a good week of practice. By the time the game came most of the scouts were gone. That is probably a good thing because we got beat 41-14.

Overall it was a really good experience and I feel I helped myself out in the scouts' eyes. I had meetings with six NFL teams including the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers.

Each NFL team is allowed to bring in 25 players it is interested in and considering drafting and the Bears have informed me that I will be one of the 25, which is good news. From El Paso I flew into Tampa Bay, Fla., where I will be working with quarterback coach Steve DeBerg for a week. This is also a good opportunity for me to improve my game.

The temperature today is 81 degrees so it should be a fun week! I would also like to thank everyone back at school for all the support everyone showed our team throughout this year. It was a great season and all the support was greatly appreciated.

Last I would like to say "what's up?" to all my teammates, keep working hard and I will see you guys in March.

Take care.

Nick Hill