South Carolina coaches eagerly anticipated landing 2020 Orlando Jones High cornerback Dominick Hill on Thursday. Minutes after Hill announced his decision in the Orlando Sentinel’s studio, Gamecocks defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson was already on the phone.
“Did you do it yet?” the coach known by most as Coach T-Rob asked.
Hill confirmed he had officially announced he planned to sign with South Carolina, picking the Gamecocks over Missouri, UCF, Nebraska and Miami from among his final five. Hill said T-Rob and head coach Will Muschamp, as well as the rest of the staff, are pumped to have him on board.
“He’s so excited,” Hill said of Muschamp. “He was just waiting for me to just push the big button and me to say I’m committed.
“What sold me the most was that I went there three times and everything was the same every time I went. It was good and nothing changed and the coaches still talked to me and I talked to Muschamp like every day and T-Rob hit me up like every day. It was like … consistency.”
In the early part of his high school career, Hill figured he would play wide receiver in college, but the scholarship offers weren’t exactly rolling in for the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder. Jones head coach Elijah Williams presented Hill with a position change and it made a huge difference in his recruitment.
Hill said he wasn’t exactly thrilled about switching from receiver to cornerback, but eventually he bought into the change and saw almost immediate dividends in the recruiting process.
“[Coach Williams] pulled me in his office and said, basically, [there’s] a 6-2 receiver everywhere,” Hill said. “He said it’s not [often] that you see a 6-2 cornerback with your speed. It took me a little minute to think and process it, but I thought, ‘Yeah, you’re right. Everywhere you go you’re gonna see a tall, skinny, lanky receiver.’ So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m just gonna go ahead and listen to him.’
“It was like hard for me to swallow that pill because I always want the ball in my hands.”
Hill, the No. 1-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2020 Central Florida Super60, headed to Columbia for his official visit during the weekend.
Hill will join one other Super60 member at South Carolina next year in Dr. Phillips running back Brandon Fields, who will also be playing baseball for the Gamecocks. South Carolina also features Central Florida area two-sport standouts Evan Hinson of Deltona and Lavonte Valentine of Melbourne Central Catholic. Hinson plays basketball and is also a tight end on the football squad while Valentine is a sprinter and a running back for the football team.
Hill is the fourth Central Florida player to commit this week, joining DeLand CB Ben Knox and Daytona Beach Mainland ATH Taron Keith, who both committed to USF, and Edgewater S/LB Eric Doctor, who is headed to East Carolina.
