When first-year Bradwell Institute Head Coach Greg Hill was nine years old, he was quarterback. That didn’t change until his last season in the Canadian Football League in 2001.
Hill played his high school years on the sun-splashed coast of Florida at Sarasota’s Riverview High School.
“Coming out of Riverview, I learned to embrace tradition and to expect to win. My high school had a rich tradition and many wins. Playing on the 6A level also taught me how to compete with some of the best,” Hill said.
As Hill started high school in the early 1990’s, it was a time when Florida high school football was starting to dominate nationally. Recruits from the Sunshine State were in demand across the country, especially quarterbacks.
Florida was producing the big 6’2” plus, 200 pound quarterbacks that had arms like howitzers. Seminole speedster Charlie Ward was an anomaly, with which Hill’s speed and ability is certain comparable.
“The quarterback in front of me in high school was one of those tall, ‘arm-like-a-cannon’ type players. He was being recruited by a lot of big schools. I was also recruited by some big schools, but they were looking at me as a defensive back instead of a quarterback,” Hill said.
Riverview was a wishbone team, and Hill showed early in his career that he had ice water in his veins as he stared into the eyes of a defensive player, waiting to pitch the ball on the veer option the absolute last second. Hill would also prove in high school he could easily keep the ball himself. Though primarily a running threat, Hill could also thread the needle firing strikes from the pocket or waggle play.
“My offense in high school was the wishbone; we ran the veer option, so I definitely had a knack for running the option prior to arriving at Southern. I ended my baseball career my freshman year in high school because it was tough trying to manage that and track at the same time,” Hill said.
There was never any doubt on whether or not Hill would spend his collegiate career next to the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek. Georgia Southern started recruiting him early on, and he was sold on what the Statesboro school had accomplished in a relatively short time when former University of Georgia defensive coordinator Erk Russell revived the program, which had ended in 1941.
Russell, fresh off of winning a national championship with Georgia, was the Eagles first head coach in 1981. Russell’s presence looms large over the program, as does that of current Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson. Johnson was Hill’s coach at Southern his last two years.
While this is Hill’s first season coaching at Bradwell Institute, Hill certainly was familiar with the Tigers, since one of the best quarterbacks that had ever worn the blue and white at Southern was Bradwell’s own Raymond Gross. Gross was about a decade before Hill, was but Gross helped write some of the early history of Southern’s dominance.
“I know for a fact that Raymond takes pride in being a Bradwell Tiger. There is a big group of GSU Eagles represented in the coaching profession. I think that the main influence Coach Russell and PJ had on those they coached is a blue collar, fight to the finish, winning attitude. If you played at Georgia Southern, you know what it means to work. As players, we knew we had to out-work the teams we played, particularly because we were smaller than most teams overall. I think we all possess that same work ethic,” Hill said.
The option game has been alive and well at Georgia Southern for quite some time, but when Paul Johnson came in 1997 with his own version of the triple option he certainly turned heads. Johnson’s arrival also allowed Hill to become one of the best quarterbacks in the game. The two greatest minds that truly understand what the triple option can do, regardless of level, is Johnson and Greg Hill.
Teams that Johnson has coached in the triple option are discussed by analysts, coaches, and fans, and Johnson defeats teams with more talent time and time again. Hill’s sleight of hand and blinding speed was a key element that helped Southern make three national championship appearances, winning back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000.
“When Coach Johnson arrived, his offensive system was a perfect fit for me. Prior to his arrival, we were running the option, but the scheme was not quite the same. I felt that Coach Johnson’s system was designed for me,” Hill said.
Southern finished runner-up in the I-AA national championship in 1998. Hill and former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson helped lead the Eagles to a national championship in 1999.
“Reading the option had become pretty easy for me. Once I learned that I was in control of the defenders, because I had the ball, really made it fun and easy for me. But I must say, there were growing pains without a doubt. Once I got comfortable making the pitch, it became a game to me,” Hill said.
Even after winning the national championship, Hill knew with his size just as coming out of high school would play into a career in professional football.
“Greg was a tremendous competitor and the fastest quarterback to play in our offense. Greg always had a great understanding of his surroundings and a surreal ability to provide big plays when needed,” Johnson said.
Hill finished his Southern career with over 3,000 yards rushing and 3,000 yards passing, a very rare feat at any level of college football. He is also been enshrined as a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame.
“It was nerve-wrecking. Growing up, my aspiration was to play pro football. Everyone is not guaranteed that opportunity. The New England Patriots had called the day after the draft with a free-agent offer. However, I had already decided that I would play in the CFL because I was going to be able to remain a QB,” Hill said.
Hill played two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts as a quarterback, wide receiver, and kick returner.
Hill returned to Statesboro to be the receivers’ coach at his alma mater before going to Statesboro High School, eventually becoming offensive coordinator at Central Carrollton. In February 2014, Bradwell Institute hired him as head football coach after Adam Carter was hired to be Reinhardt University’s defensive coordinator.
“I just felt that Bradwell had a rich tradition that needs to be embraced to bring the pride back. It was an opportunity for me start my coaching career in South Georgia,” Hill said.
SE-CC-10.14-GregHill
True Blue Quarterback
By John Wood
