Eighth-grader Sills just playing football

BEAR, DEL. — Dave Sills knows his son. He knows his little habits. He's known them since he first handed his boy a football.

It's why Sills could tell something wasn't quite right when his son's first high school varsity pass slipped out of his hand. And the second pass was batted down.

Dave Sills knows his son.

As a reminder, the son of Dave Sills, David Sills V, made national headlines in February when as a seventh grader he committed to USC, accepting an offer from new Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin. Some pundits called it ridiculous. Others called it a recruiting stunt. It stirred a national debate as to when young is too young.

David stood wide-eyed wondering what all the fuss was about. Hey, he was 13, loved playing football — and getting a free ticket to possibly one day play for the school of his dreams. Nothing else mattered.

The luxury of Sills' current situation is that he can sit back and finally — just play football. The 6-1, 160-pound Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) eighth grader has a destination most high school seniors would die for. He doesn't have to endure the rigmarole of the college recruiting process. He doesn't have to concern himself with looking over his shoulder each time he plays, concerned a college recruiter might catch a rare bad game.

He can just play football.

All the debating is over. Sills is a kid who eats, sleeps and dreams USC football. So when Kiffin came knocking, why not live a dream?

"This is something that I've always wanted, and I don't feel that much pressure, because I'm basically like a regular kid doing the things regular kids do," said Sills, 14. "I know I'm committed to USC, but I still feel like I'm 14. I don't feel that much pressure just because I have a lot of good people around me: my team, my parents and my coaches."

Sills is also surrounded by a pretty good team. He might have gotten off to a slow start in the Lions' season-opener against Smyrna, a dominating 35-9 Red Lion victory last Friday, but once he reached a comfort zone he was fine. Back to his commanding self. After his first two passes went incomplete, Sills showed a poise and moxie beyond his years, completing 10 of his next 12 for 163 yards, finishing 10-for-14 with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Though Sills' insides might have been quaking the first five minutes, he wasn't overwhelmed. He wore the same calm veneer he's always had.

"I was nervous all week heading into the Smyrna game," David said. "I found out during training camp that high school varsity football was a lot different than middle school football. The game is a lot faster. You have to think more. I think my nerves got to me. I felt there were probably some eyes on me during pre-game. I noticed that there were a lot of people watching me.

"I knew playing well really meant something, especially for me making the jump from middle school to high school. Varsity football isn't just a bunch of kids running around the field; it's more organized. Once I settled down, I was OK."

From there, it didn't take long to see why Kiffin wanted to snap this prodigy up so quickly.

Being a father, however, you notice things.

"David wasn't himself the first series," said Dave Sills, a general contractor. "I've been coaching him since he was 7 and I never saw a pass slip out of his hands like that. His drop wasn't as deep, either. But when he completed a few, he was himself again, doing the things David has always done naturally. By the second quarter, he was fine."

Lions head coach Eric Day is willing to be patient with David, bringing him along slowly and asking him to manage the game. Against Smyrna, the Red Lion backfield of Jhurell Pressley and Wendell Smallwood combined for 261 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and Sills had to feel pretty secure with 6-5, 307-pound Auburn-bound right guard Angelo Blackson protecting him.

But Day is also being proactive. A one-time college coach, he still uses the same college playbook for the Lions. Day spoke to the USC coaches over the summer, and Red Lion has integrated some of the terminology USC uses, giving Sills a head start to where he's going.

As the season progresses, Day will give Sills a little more responsibility each week.

"In the opener, we didn't ask David to do much," Day said. "We worked him in and gave him some easy throws to build his confidence. After watching the game film, though, he played better than I thought he did. We're a no-huddle offense and David has guidelines to follow. Beyond that, he's calling the game.

"We run a lot of things that are packaged, but I'll say he has a lot of freedom to do things. Remember, he's still an eighth grader playing at a high school varsity level. But as an eighth grader, he's probably doing more than a high school senior is doing."

That enjoyment will take on an increased intensity level when the Lions visit southeastern Pennsylvania Class AAA powerhouse Interboro (Prospect Park, Pa.) Friday night at 7 p.m. at the South Avenue Athletic Complex. The Bucs are big, fast, and physical and could present Sills with the one of the most difficult challenges this season.

But Sills is undaunted.

"This game will be more intense, and every varsity game I play in from now on will be that way," David said. "Coach Day will settle me down. We are a pass-first, run-second team, but we have two amazing backs that take a lot of pressure off me. Right now, we're still taking the little steps."

Seven months ago, when Sills went public with his commitment, it was greeted with high scrutiny and cynicism. As the probing media mist dissipated, the Red Lion program began taking on a new dimension. There was a time, not that long ago, the Red Lion stands were barren, save for a few specks of onlookers that dotted the 3,000-capacity field that doesn't have a track circling it like most high schools have.

Now ESPN camera crews show up and around 100 people arrive just to watch the Lions practice. Day is in his fourth year as head coach and he has turned a dormant program into a winner. Where once the Lions played before an empty stadium, fans now surround the field two and three rows deep. The local cynics haven't left, though. They still take shots claiming the Lions have big-timed the area, playing a mere two games in state this season.

Day shrugs. He wants his team to play the best. He realizes he has something special here, someone big-time who's already locked into a big-time program.

"You know the best thing of all," Day said. "David is still the same. ESPN was there all day last Friday and you would never know it by the way David reacted. We've had TV crews out when we started camp. They talked to Dave, talked to me. He's still the same. You can't get a seat to any of our games now, and a lot of that is because of David.

"David is not overwhelmed by much, and part of that is because David is 14 years-old. That's what makes David neat. When David practices, he's a very mature kid. What's great is when he's not playing football, he's a silly 14-year-old enjoying himself, clowning around with my 10-year-old son and playing video games. He's not trying to be anyone else but who he is.”

A kid with a special talent.

Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.