Hill, King eager to turn practice plays into game plays at UGA

ATHENS -- Whenever Walter Hill talks with acquaintances from East Hall the question invariably comes up.

"Everybody always calls and asks me: are you going to get some playing time, you going play next year," said Hill, now a redshirt freshman receiver at Georgia.

It's THE question every young athlete within the Bulldogs football program hears -- and asks themselves.

Hill's answer: "You'll see me on the field the next couple of years. I'll get some PT [playing time]. It's going to come in time."

Hill should some get some significant playing today in Georgia's annual spring "G-day" game, which starts in Athens at 2 p.m. With a number of receivers out injured -- including Habersham Central product Tavarres King -- Hill will have plenty of chances to shine through the gloomy weather.

After playing quarterback during his senior season at East Hall (2006), Hill says he needed his first year in Athens to simply learn the receiver position.

"It was a big, big transition," said Hill, who played receiver for the Vikings his junior year before switching to quarterback because of the needs of the team.

It's a transition you simply can't rush.

King agrees. And he should know -- after all, he's now dealing with that transition firsthand as spring practice reaches its midpoint for the University of Georgia.

While most of his classmates are worried about getting a date to the prom, King is already hard at work in Athens after graduating early from Habersham Central and enrolling at Georgia. And despite recently suffering a knee infection which will hold him out of today's "G-day" game, King has enjoyed his early exposure to life in the Southeastern Conference.

"It's been pretty neat," King said of the experience. "If I had to give advice whether to go or stay, I'd say go for it. It's a great opportunity to do some great things and become a great person, not just a football player."

Yet football is what drew King to Athens early and is the reason the star wide receiver who broke state and school records with the Raiders is now battling to prove his worth in a packed Bulldogs receiver corps.

Georgia returns five upperclassmen receivers from last season's team that went 11-2 and romped to a Sugar Bowl victory, including a potential star in senior Mohamed Massaquoi.

And yet both Hill and King have made enough plays in practice to turn coaches' heads and even merit mention from head coach Mark Richt.

"Tavarres King catches the ball real well," Richt said. "He's very smooth.

"And Walter Hill's always caught the ball extremely well. He's made some big plays in practice."

Now the key is taking those big practice plays and turning them into playing time on fall Saturdays.

According to each player, that means learning their position to the fullest -- and competing during every possible moment.

"You've got to be confident; you've got to be intent," King said. "Practice, the weight room, everything is intense. Everything's about competing. You've got to push yourself."

Both Hill and King have pushed themselves hard in conditioning -- each player adding significant muscle mass since graduating. Hill estimates he's gained 20 pounds of muscle, while King has added 11 pounds just since joining the team in January.

"I weighed 195 out of high school," the 6-foot-4, 214-pound Hill said. "The first day (of weights) was rough. But I can handle it."

"I'm not a huge guy," said King, who's currently listed as 6-foot-1, 180-pounds. "Hopefully I can gain a little more and gain some body mass."

As key as strength is, King says the most important facet is speed.

"You can ask anyone who comes in early, ask anyone who comes anytime actually -- speed is the key to this game, especially in this league," King said.

That's not only footspeed, but also speed in reading defenses and making adjustments.

"Just reading coverages is huge," Hill said. "That's probably the biggest thing I've picked up.

"Right now the biggest thing is probably route running. If I know the route, everything speeds up for me. That's the only thing slowing me down."

Yet learning your position and getting down the fundamentals are what spring practice is all about.

"The coaches are more demanding in the fall," Hill said. "In the spring, you have more time to work."

And work it is, though there's also more time over the Spring's spread out practice schedule -- Georgia practices 13 times over a period of about a month -- for teammates to get to know each other. And in King's case get to know his surroundings and get used to a college workload.

"It's been pretty easy," King said of his first few months in Athens. "I had three other guys [early football enrollees], Ben Jones, Dontavious Jackson and Richard Samuel that came in with me. We've kind of carried each other through the ups and downs of things, getting to class, things of that sort."

Hill says there is added support from fellow position players.

"All the receivers took me under the wing," Hill said. "They treated me like their little brother. I just bonded with them."

Hill and King didn't need much time to bond each other -- the pair met in high school and watched each other play when they had the chance. And each believes the other has a chance to go on and do big things Between the Hedges.

"He's going to be a big-time player," Hill said of King. "He's got so much potential it's not even funny."

"Walter's a smart player," King said. "He works hard and has a lot of ability."

When the chance comes to show those abilities on the field, each player says he will be ready, whether it's this coming season or in future campaigns. And just like Hill, King would jump at the chance to play in 2008.

"I definitely would love to do that," King said. "But it's not my decision ultimately. I'm just going to go out and give it 110 percent, and if [receivers] coach [John] Eason and [offensive coordinator Mike] Bobo feel I can be an asset to this team, I'm all in."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/4/208416