Nick Hill (born April 5, 1985) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He is the head football coach at his alma mater,

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

. Hill was signed by the Chicago Bears of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2008. He then played professionally in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) and in the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. He played college football at Southern Illinois.

High school career

Hill attended Du Quoin High School where he was a three-year starter in football. He played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

as well. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

, he was a First-team All-State selection in basketball, averaging 26.7 points, 6.0

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 2.4 assists. As a senior, he was a First-team All-State selection again after averaging 22.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.0 steals. In football, he was a First-team All-State and First-team All-Conference selection after passing for 1,451 yards, 19

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

, and also rushing for 543 yards, and 11 touchdowns. He became the school's first 4,000-career yard passer in 35 years, the first since former major league

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Don Stanhouse Donald Joseph Stanhouse (born February 12, 1951) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher who had an eight-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1972–1980) with a brief comeback in 1982. He played for the Texas Rangers and Baltim ...

in 1968.

College career

Hill originally attended

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

where he played on the

team and averaged 1.7 points-per-game in 23 games. He then transferred to

where he was three-year letterman and two-year starter on the football team. Hill

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during his first season at Southern Illinois after transferring from Western Kentucky. As a redshirt sophomore, he played in four games, completing 16-of-20 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed the ball nine times for 102 yards and one touchdown. As a junior, he started all 13 games, and ranked second in the conference and seventh in the nation in passing efficiency (156.7). He completed 121-of-196 passes (61.7%) for 1,721 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. He was the team's third-leading rusher with 91 carries for 382 yards and six touchdowns. He was a First-team Gateway Conference All-Academic and CoSIDA/''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...

'' Academic All-District V. As a senior, he led the conference in passing yards-per-game with 226.8, total offense with 252.3 and ranked second in passing efficiency (167.1), which was also third in the nation. He set school single season records in passing; yards (3,175), touchdowns (28), completions (258) and attempts (361). He was named a First-team All-Conference, Gateway All-Academic and ''Sports Network'' All-America honorable mention. He was honored as Gateway Offensive Player of the Week, twice, and ''College Sporting News'' Offensive Player of the Week, once. He finished sixth in the voting for the

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

, given to the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He also set a school single-game record with 436 passing yards at Northern Iowa, and passed for 200 yards or more in nine games. He ranked second on the team with 121 carries for 357 yards and four touchdowns. For his career, Hill completed 394-of-577 passes (68.3%) for 5,184 yards, 46 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while rushing 221 times for 841 yards (3.8 avg) and 11 touchdowns. He led Southern Illinois to a 21–6 record as a starter. He also played in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Bowl. While in college, he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

Special Education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

Professional career

Hill went unselected in the 2008 NFL Draft, however on April 27, 2008, Hill signed a three-year contract as an

with the Chicago Bears. During Training Camp, Hill competed with Caleb Hanie for the Bears' third quarterback spot on the depth chart behind

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...

and

Rex Grossman Rex Daniel Grossman III (born August 23, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Florida, where he rece ...

. The Bears chose to keep Hanie as their practice squad quarterback and Hill was waived by the Bears on July 29. After not playing in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Hill joined

, a professional

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

league. On January 15, 2009, he was assigned to the

Rio Grande Valley Dorados The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional arena football team. They began playing in 2004 as an expansion member of af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Obra Homes Field at Dodge Arena in ...

. Hill caught on with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

for the 2010 AFL season. He would become the starter midway through the season, and be the starter for the entire 2011 season. He was then set to join the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

in 2012 until he was signed by the Packers. On January 20, 2012, Hill joined the Green Bay Packers and wore jersey #17. On May 23, 2012, he was released by the Packers. He played for the Storm in 2012 after being released by the Packers. In April 2013, Hill signed with the

San Antonio Talons The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season. The t ...

to replace injured quarterback John Dutton.

Coaching career

Hill was the head coach for the Carbondale Terriers in Carbondale, Illinois for one season in 2013. On January 13, 2014, Hill was announced as the QB coach and co-offensive coordinator for the

Southern Illinois Salukis The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illin ...

. On December 1, 2015, it was announced Hill would be the Salukis interim head coach after the firing of Dale Lennon. On January 4, 2016, SIU removed the interim tag and made Hill their next head football coach.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Southern Illinois profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Nick 1985 births Living people American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Chicago Bears players Orlando Predators players Rio Grande Valley Dorados players San Antonio Talons players Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football players Tampa Bay Storm players Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players High school football coaches in Illinois People from Du Quoin, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois