Antonio LaVosia Hill (born October 23, 1968) is a former
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 ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...
in 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) for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
. He also played for the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL). He played
college football at the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...
. With the Cowboys, he won
Super Bowl XXVII over the
Buffalo Bills.
Early years
Hill attended Warren County High School in
Warrenton, Georgia
Warrenton is a city in Warren County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,937 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Warren County.
History
Warrenton was founded in 1797 as seat of Warren County (est. 1793). It was incorpor ...
. He played in the Florida-Georgia and the North-South All-star football games.
He was also named second-team All-state in
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 ...
.
In
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
he placed third in the
discus throw in the state finals. As a senior, he won the state
shot put title and placed fourth in the
high jump.
College career
Hill accepted a football scholarship from the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...
. As a freshman, he only played in 5 games because of a stress fracture in his right foot.
As a sophomore, he started eight of the nine contests he played, missing the final 2 because of a right dislocated shoulder. In the 33–10 win against
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...
, he made a career-high 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 quarterback pressures, 3 tackles for loss and forced one of the school-record 7 interceptions.
As a junior, he started every game and led the team in sacks despite a deep thigh bruise that kept him out of practices. Against
the Citadel College, he had 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback pressure and 2 forced fumbles.
As a senior, although he was limited with an injured left shoulder late in the season, he received All-Conference and
Division I-AA
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...
All-American honors. He finished his college career with 187 tackles, 13 sacks (school record), 30 tackles for loss, 7 passes defensed and 6 blocked kicks.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Hill was selected by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
in the fourth round (108th overall) of the
1991 NFL Draft. He led the team in tackles and sacks and tied for the team lead in tackles for loss during the preseason. In the season opener against the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
he re-aggravated a left shoulder injury from his previous season in college and was placed on the
injured reserve list
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
on September 14. He was activated for the eleventh game of the season against the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
. He played in the
wild card playoff game against the
Chicago Bears, where he defended a pass and recovered a
Jim Harbaugh fumble that contributed to a 17–13 win.
On September 2,
1992, he was placed on the
injured reserve list
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
with a right hamstring injury. He was activated on September 28, but suffered a strained right hamstring in the ninth game against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and missed the remainder of the regular season. He was activated for the playoffs, becoming a member of the
Super Bowl XXVII winning team. He was waived injured on August 29,
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
, he was signed as a
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 ...
by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
. He was released on August 23.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
In
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
, he signed with the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, where he played for three seasons.
References
External links
Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Tony
Living people
1968 births
People from Warrenton, Georgia
Players of American football from Augusta, Georgia
American football defensive ends
Canadian football defensive linemen
Chattanooga Mocs football players
Dallas Cowboys players
Winnipeg Blue Bombers players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople