By Steve Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
7 a.m.
Will Hill wakes up on a hot, humid New Jersey summer day. The East Orange native and youngest of four children, Hill prepares to embark on a rush hour commute involving a bus and a train to Jersey City. The weight room at St. Peter's Prep opens at 10 a.m. He likes to get there when it opens, to get a full work out in before afternoon practice.
Hill is not your typical St. Peter's Prep student. He stands out on a number of levels. At first glance, the wiry built Hill, who stands at 6-foot-3, looks like he could be a star basketball player, as if he got lost on his way to play for Bob Hurley at St. Anthony High School five minutes away. He towers over teammates on the football field, though his soft voice betrays his man-among-boys appearance.
On a less superficial level, Hill stands as one of the very few East Orange teenagers who attend St. Peter's Prep. In a city of almost 70,000 people, the medium household income is just under $30,000, less than half the state average. Drastic police measures such as high-tech surveillance and gun shot detection have been enacted to combat rampant gang activity. Few kids dream of going to college on a full scholarship. Even fewer achieve it. Hill, who boasts scholarship offers from nearly every major program in the country, is certainly the exception, not the rule.
Hill might have been another face in the crowd at East Orange Campus, the local public high school, if not for his cousin, Kee-ayre Griffin. Griffin, a former star running back at St. Peter's Prep, transferred to the school after Essex Catholic, where he spent his freshman year, closed down after 2003. Hill's father saw the success Griffin had, and decided to make the sacrifice to send his son to St. Peter's Prep.
"My father thought it was a good idea," Hill said. "The city of East Orange is not that good.I'd be in a lot of trouble. There's so much chaos over there."
Noon.
After a rigorous work out in a weight room that lacks air conditioning, Hill has some time to kill before practice begins, though not enough to head back home. He enters the office of head football coach Rich Hansen, to eat lunch and perhaps take a short nap. It is a bit of a refuge for him.
The first person to welcome Hill to the school as a freshman was Hansen, whom he had gotten to know from hanging around the sidelines his eighth grade year while Griffin played. Entering his fourth year under Hansen's tutelage, Hill describes their relationship as "exciting", and likens it to the one he has with his own father.
"We have a lot of fun. He and I joke around a lot, but he's like my father is with me," Hill said. "We can joke around, but then makes me get back on track."
It is a bond that persevered through very trying circumstances.
During Hill's junior year, tragedy struck that could have altered his life in countless ways. During the first week of the season, one of his cousins was shot and killed in East Orange. In the third week of the season, the 17-year-old had to endure another terrible death in his family, as the streets of East Orange struck again. Another one of Hill's cousins was murdered.
"It was hard," Hill said, recalling having to deal with two ordeals bigger than any challenge ever faced on the football field.
Hansen and the rest of the football team embraced their devastated quarterback, showing support by attending the wake and funeral services. What could have sent Hill and, subsequently, his team into disarray served as a rallying point. Hill dedicated his performances to his late family members, using their deaths as a positive form of motivation.
"You have so much frustration, and everything builds up in you. You don't want to do the wrong thing, so you might as well let it out on the field," Hill said.
On the field is where Hill staked his claim last season as one of the more exciting players in the entire country. He was a threat to score while playing quarterback, wide receiver, and while returning kicks. Not to mention he was a terror in the secondary, accounting for 61 tackles, three interceptions, and a pair of sacks, despite teams' reluctance to throw to his side of the field. At the next level, safety will likely be his primary position, which is just fine by him.
"I like to hit people," Hill said.
And hit people he did. Hill hit like a truck last season, but in the end, it just wasn't enough. St. Peter's Prep failed to defend its state championship, as Don Bosco exacted revenge in a big way, beating the Marauders 41-0 at Giants Stadium. The game was billed at the state's biggest in years, and 14,000 showed up to see Hill and company fall at the hands of the Ironmen.
After the blowout loss, Hill put the game, and much of his past behind him. His family was able to move from East Orange to West Orange, a wealthier suburban city just a stone's throw away, though he still visits East Orange to see his sister. He doesn't harp on the disappointments of the humbling defeat at the hands of Don Bosco, or on the problems that plague the city he left behind. Rather, he remains focused on the upcoming season, and all the tasks at hand.
"I'm hungry, and I make sure all these other guys are hungry, too," Hill said, referring to the team's desire to get back on the field and compete for another state title. "I try to make sure every practice we have is a good one."
5:30 p.m.
Remnants of rush hour traffic crawl out of downtown Jersey City, as Hill and the Marauders host Linden to close out the Jersey City Recreation 7-on-7 Challenge. After a long day of commuting, weightlifting, and practicing, Hill finally takes the field against a Linden team whose trademark is speed.
Despite Linden's quickness, Hill is a step ahead. He eludes defenders like he has managed to elude the troubles and temptations of the East Orange streets. On this summer day, he is not only the game's best talent, but probably its biggest success story.