Henry Hill

Henry Hill (born October 31, 1948) is an American former football player, who played at the defensive guard position as a walk-on for the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1970. He was chosen as the co-captain and Most Valuable Player on the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team and a first-team All-American that same year.

Early life A native of Detroit, Michigan, Hill is the youngest child in a family of five boys and two girls. He attended Detroit's Martin Luther King High School where he played football at the tight end position.

University of Michigan

Walk-on status Because of his size, Hill was not heavily recruited by major college teams. Interviewed in 1970, Hill recalled, "I was a tight end in high school and I didn't get many scholarship offers because my size was marginal. You don't see too many 5-10 tight ends around." Interviewed by a reporter from the UPI in 1969, Hill said, "It's an academic scholarship. One of those kind they give to ghetto kids. My family was too poor to send me to school."

Hill tried out for the Michigan football team at the invitation of George Mans, Michigan's offensive ends coach. He recalled that, during his try-out, they threw a ball to him, and the ball bounced off his head, resulting in his being converted into a lineman. The Toledo Blade in October 1968 ran a feature story on Hill and noted: "At 5-10, 200 pounds, Henry isn't big enough to play Big 10 football. Try telling that to Henry. ... Hill is a walk-on (non-scholarship) who made it big for the Wolverines. He's small, but he is tough, and he loves to play football."

1969 season In 1969, Hill started all 11 games for the Wolverines at the middle guard position on defense and also started three games as a guard on offense. He led the team with 90 tackles during the 1969 season.

1970 season Hill was selected as the defensive captain for the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team, serving as co-captain with quarterback Don Moorhead. He started all 10 games as the Wolverines middle guard on defense and accumulated 69 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss. He was also selected by the Central Press Association in 1970 as a first-team All-American and by the Associated Press as a second-team All-American.

Reputation for quickness Hill developed a reputation as one of the quickest players at his position, as reflected in the following comments from football reporters: Prior to the 1970 Rose Bowl, a Southern California newspaper said of Hill: "Quickness is his biggest asset. He is as fast as any player on the team, has great upper arm and shoulder strength and is strong enough to keep from being knocked out of a play." In November 1970, the Associated Press ran a feature story referring to Hill as a "cat-quick" middle guard whose "forte is superquick lateral movement." The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Tho not physically imposing at 5-11 and 220 pounds, he uses great quickness to blow past a blocker."