Gators' secondary a concern

One of the nation's elite prospects coming out of high school, Will Hill arrived at Florida this summer expecting to play early. But he didn't envision it being this much, this soon.

Only two days into preseason practice, and the confident athlete from West Orange, N.J., is competing for the starting role at strong safety for the nation's fifth-ranked team.

"The opportunity came at hand rather quickly," he said after Tuesday's practice.

The only one standing between Hill and the starting lineup is true sophomore Ahmad Black, who made the move to strong safety from cornerback in the spring.

It's down to this because five other safeties who were supposed to be here aren't. Jamar Hornsby was booted for felony theft this summer. Starting strong safety Dorian Munroe and backup John Curtis went down with season-ending knee injuries, while sophomore Bryan Thomas is still rehabbing after having a cyst removed from his knee. And Dee Finely, another promising true freshman, failed to qualify academically.

The attrition has left the Gators with a serious shortage at the safety positions — and it's opened the way for Hill to possibly start in his first college game on Aug. 30 against Hawaii.

"It wasn't too much excitement (when he learned about the sudden safety shortage)," Hill said. "It was like, 'All right, here's your chance, so go out and get it.' "

The Gators are counting on Hill. And he's feeling the pressure.

With this kid, maybe that's a good thing.

"I love the pressure," he said. "Without the pressure, I'm going to go out there and just go through the motions. With the pressure, it's pushing me to be a better player."

Hill is definitely being pushed — by the pressure and the coaching staff, especially safeties coach Chuck Heater. There is a sense of urgency to get Hill (and the other young safeties) game ready.

"It's a little difficult, but it's coming along," Hill said. "The team has welcomed me. The coaches are a little bit strict, but everything is for the best. They're pushing me and pushing me. Ultimately, I'll be better."

Hill said his biggest hurdles right now are learning the defense (and both safety positions) and adjusting to a much faster-paced game than he experienced in high school.

"I'm not worried about the other safeties right now. I'm worried about me and my performance," he said. "I've got to get the defense down and come out and play. I'm picking it up.

"The tempo, the speed. ... you've got all these fast guys out here. You've got to move quick. I'm still learning the position."

Hill has a mentor — sophomore Major Wright, who came in as a true freshman last season and started seven games. Wright is now the most experienced safety on the roster, and he's sharing his knowledge with Hill.

"He played a big part as soon as I got here," Hill said. "He got on me and was telling me everything, what to do and how to do it. About the tempo mostly. He helps me a lot. He teaches me through his experiences."

Wright is also trying to assist Black and his future backup at free safety, either walk-on and former wide receiver Cade Holliday, or true freshman T.J. Lawrence, who made the move from wide receiver two days ago.

"I'm not really concerned (about the lack of safeties and experience), because the guys that we do have, I know they're going to work hard and go out there and compete," Wright said. "I think Ahmad is going to do real good. I have faith in him.

"Will Hill is a great kid. He's coming in and working hard and I feel like I can trust him, too. It's a very big uphill battle for him coming from high school to college because the transition is so fast. I think he will handle it pretty good."

At this early stage, the only known at the safety positions is that Wright is the starter at free. The other roles are yet to be determined.

Heater said he's searching for five safeties who will be ready to play on opening day.

"We've got to start with getting two good guys out there," Heater said.

"And then get a third and get a fourth, and you'd love to have a fifth. We obviously lost some numbers. We've got to be at least two-deep with a spare, which ideally I'd like to get to.

"Will Hill certainly has talent and skill, which is what we hoped he'd have. He'll definitely play a role in there for us. Black had a good spring and I'm encouraged by what he did. We have to make sure we best now how to play him. He can do some things fundamentally that are important on defense, like tackle. He's a good tackler."

When Hill signed with Florida in February, the plan was for the former high school quarterback to maybe get some playing time also on offense this fall. That's no longer an option, given UF's shortage of safeties.

"I'm going to concentrate on defense," Hill said.