College football
Prized QB commits (again) to USF
The Hurricanes do not excite Carlton Hill enough to take back his oral commitment to the Bulls.
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 25, 2005
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TAMPA - Carlton Hill has said a lot of things to a lot of people since committing to South Florida in August. What's important is what the coveted Panhandle quarterback told Miami coach Larry Coker on Monday: He's going to be a Bull after all.
"My mind is made up," said Hill, ranked as the No.14 quarterback in the nation by scout.com. "I'm going to stay committed to USF.
"When I visited Miami (this past weekend), I wasn't disappointed. But I just didn't feel it. My heart wasn't there."
Hill is USF's 14th commitment and, arguably, the biggest coup. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder is fast enough to be ranked as an "athlete," someone recruited strictly for his athletic ability and who can play several positions, by some recruiting services.
He's coming to USF as a quarterback, however, and will be one of four on scholarship competing for the starting job this fall.
"(USF) was where he felt most comfortable, and that's just a personal preference," said Jeff Schaum, Hill's coach at Jefferson County High in Monticello, a town of about 4,000 just east of Tallahassee.
"It all comes down to what feels right to you. It's why some people drive Fords and some people drive Chevys."
Since committing to USF in August, he has visited Purdue and North Carolina State, and he was scheduled to visit Mississippi this weekend until he canceled Monday.
The biggest threat to USF always was the Hurricanes, and at one point, he told a recruiting site he was 90 percent sure he was going to Miami.
Even after he was reported as a renewed USF commitment last week, he said he was considering the Hurricanes too strongly to call himself pledged to the Bulls.
Now he said he's done wavering and will stick with his original commitment even though he expects schools to call until signing day Feb.2.
"Miami has the reputation of being Miami," Schaum said. "But (Bulls assistant) Wally Burnham and those guys did a good job recruiting him, showing him what they have going for them in the Big East."
Hill passed for 1,764 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior and rushed for 888 yards and another 12 scores. He's the second first-team all-state quarterback to commit to USF. He earned Class A honors, Lakeland Lake Gibson's Matt Grothe 4A.
How quickly Hill can compete for the starting job will be determined this fall. The Bulls will have junior Pat Julmiste, who started all but one game in last fall's 4-7 season, and sophomore Courtney Denson, who redshirted last season after transferring from Auburn.
Burnham and coach Jim Leavitt are expected to make an in-home visit to Hill on Thursday, another step to assure their biggest commitment stays committed.
"I'm happy for him," Schaum said.
"He and his parents just had more of a comfortable feeling with the players and the coaches at USF, and that's not going to change."
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