ASU Lands Major Commitment for 2016 Class

Christian Hill did not play a single snap of high school football in Kansas City. He joined the Air Force after graduation where he served four years of active duty.

Still in the reserves, he played his first year of organized football last season at Glendale Community College where he registered 18 tackles and 8 sacks as a freshman earning all-conference honors playing defensive end.

Now a four-star recruit according to Scout.com and Friday night he announced his commitment to Arizona State.

“I took an unofficial visit to Arizona State today and I have decided to commit to ASU,” Hill said Friday. ““I really like Coach Graham and Coach Shipp. I hadn’t spent much time with Coach Graham before but I really like what he is about. Coach Shipp was able to sit down with me today and put tape on of me at Glendale and show me how it translates to what they do at ASU.”

The 6-6, 265 pound pass rusher had received national attention, holding offers from Arizona, Colorado State, Louisville, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, San Diego State and Washington State.

Adding JUCO players has been a huge plus for Todd Graham in his tenure with Sun Devils, the latest example being Damarious Randall, who was a first round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2015 Draft. That played a big role in Hills final choice. 

“We talked about my life, my future and got to meet an academic adviser,” mentioned Hill. “I was able to watch the team lift and run and I really liked what I saw. Everyone there knew my name and who I was and I was impressed with that. I was able to speak with other players and they really like the staff.”

So what makes Hill such a big get for ASU other than the fact that he has four stars next to his name? Southwest Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com and one of Hill’s coaches at GCC, Jason Jewell, provides a scouting report:

“So the film out there on Hill (watch film here) is his first year playing organized football, ever,” says Jewell. “That is impressive. On tape you see a long, athletic player that can really run. There are times on film when he chases down quarterbacks from behind. Kids this big don’t typically run this fast. The raw tools are there. The size and frame are there, that is why he is being so heavily recruited. The upside on Hill is huge! Typically when a player hasn’t played, they are tentative, Hill is not. He gets after it.”

“Naturally with his lack of experience, he is raw,” he adds. “He needs work on his fundamentals. But the more reps he gets, the better he will be. Which is scary because Hill’s freshman film is pretty darn good.”

“At the very least, Hill can come in and help a program rush the passer,” he states. “But if he develops during his sophomore year in junior college, the sky is the limit. He has the size to be an every down DE but what could be intriguing is he has the speed and range to drop into coverage.”

Hill will have three years to play two at ASU starting in 2016.