CatBoxBackFan
Hall of Famer
Hakim Hill
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 27, 2004 06:30 PM
EL PASO -- Tailback Hakim Hill was dismissed from the Arizona State football program on Monday after his latest team rules violation.
No. 21-ranked ASU will be without record-setting quarterback Andrew Walter, leading rusher Hill and starting safety Riccardo Stewart against Purdue in the Vitalis Sun Bowl on Friday. Walter and Stewart are out due to shoulder surgery.
Sam Keller is getting his first start in place of Walter. Redshirt freshman Josh Barrett will replace Stewart.
Redshirt freshman Rudy Burgess and true freshman Antone Saulsberry will be 1-2 at tailback, followed by walk-on Preston Jones.
“He broke a team rule, we sent him home, and that'll be all for him,” head coach Dirk Koetter said of Hill, a junior who started four games, rushed for 566 yards and accounted for five of the team's six rushing touchdowns.
“It's disappointing any time you lose a player. When you recruit a guy and sit in his parents' living room, then there is a responsibility involved. It's unfortunate when that player can't see it through.
“We always give players second chances, because college is a growing and learning process. But there are certain lines that can't be crossed, and when they are, you have to take the appropriate action.”
Hill, whose father J.D. Hill was an ASU All-America wide receiver in 1970, was suspended for a game because of a temper outburst in the weight room. His latest violation, after arriving here Sunday, was not a legal infraction but enough to use up his last chance with Koetter.
Hill also was disciplined for a team rules violation in March 2003. He had a series of legal problems growing up in Iowa City, the most serious of which was a third degree sexual abuse charge in July 2001.
After a plea bargain, Hill was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and placed on one-year probation for misdemeanor assault. Koetter suspended him for the 2001 season when he was a true freshman.
ASU is without four scholarship tailbacks.
Loren Wade has been out since the fourth game because a school investigation into possible illegal benefits violations. Randy Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game. Cornell Canidate missed the entire season a groin injury that required complex surgery.
Burgess was shifted to tailback from wide receiver and Saulsberry from linebacker. H-back Lee Burghgraef and quarterback Chad Christensen will also be part of tailback by committee against Purdue, as they were in a 48-42 win over UCLA.
Burgess rushed for a team high 186 yards against Stanford on Nov. 6. Those 37 carries took such a toll on his shoulders that he's carried just six times since.
Hill had two critical fumbles in a loss to Arizona on Nov. 26, and since then the coaches appeared ready to turn the page and go with Burgess and Saulsberry.
“You talk about how young guys get better, Antone and Sam Keller are the two guys from an offensive standpoint you've seen a dramatic improvement in,” Koetter said.
Saulsberry's only carries (11 for 37 yards) were against Washington State on Nov. 13.
Burgess said he is healthy and ready to carry the load.
Terry Richardson now is returning punts, something Burgess also was doing against Stanford.
“It's just another opportunity for me to have another breakout game,” he said. “I have fresh legs, I'm running through the hole a lot faster, I'm not getting as tired. I just feel good about the whole situation. The rest has helped me shoulders a lot.
“It's almost like when a situation like this happens, we don't panic, we just try to fight through it and come up with other options.”
Randy Hill and Canidate are expected back next year, and Wade's status remains unclear. Others in the 2005 tailback mix will include Price Wilks, a freshman who is redshirting, and Jarrett Sayas, a transfer from New Mexico State.
ASU's 2005 recruiting class will include Keegan Herring of Peoria High School.
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 27, 2004 06:30 PM
EL PASO -- Tailback Hakim Hill was dismissed from the Arizona State football program on Monday after his latest team rules violation.
No. 21-ranked ASU will be without record-setting quarterback Andrew Walter, leading rusher Hill and starting safety Riccardo Stewart against Purdue in the Vitalis Sun Bowl on Friday. Walter and Stewart are out due to shoulder surgery.
Sam Keller is getting his first start in place of Walter. Redshirt freshman Josh Barrett will replace Stewart.
Redshirt freshman Rudy Burgess and true freshman Antone Saulsberry will be 1-2 at tailback, followed by walk-on Preston Jones.
“He broke a team rule, we sent him home, and that'll be all for him,” head coach Dirk Koetter said of Hill, a junior who started four games, rushed for 566 yards and accounted for five of the team's six rushing touchdowns.
“It's disappointing any time you lose a player. When you recruit a guy and sit in his parents' living room, then there is a responsibility involved. It's unfortunate when that player can't see it through.
“We always give players second chances, because college is a growing and learning process. But there are certain lines that can't be crossed, and when they are, you have to take the appropriate action.”
Hill, whose father J.D. Hill was an ASU All-America wide receiver in 1970, was suspended for a game because of a temper outburst in the weight room. His latest violation, after arriving here Sunday, was not a legal infraction but enough to use up his last chance with Koetter.
Hill also was disciplined for a team rules violation in March 2003. He had a series of legal problems growing up in Iowa City, the most serious of which was a third degree sexual abuse charge in July 2001.
After a plea bargain, Hill was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and placed on one-year probation for misdemeanor assault. Koetter suspended him for the 2001 season when he was a true freshman.
ASU is without four scholarship tailbacks.
Loren Wade has been out since the fourth game because a school investigation into possible illegal benefits violations. Randy Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game. Cornell Canidate missed the entire season a groin injury that required complex surgery.
Burgess was shifted to tailback from wide receiver and Saulsberry from linebacker. H-back Lee Burghgraef and quarterback Chad Christensen will also be part of tailback by committee against Purdue, as they were in a 48-42 win over UCLA.
Burgess rushed for a team high 186 yards against Stanford on Nov. 6. Those 37 carries took such a toll on his shoulders that he's carried just six times since.
Hill had two critical fumbles in a loss to Arizona on Nov. 26, and since then the coaches appeared ready to turn the page and go with Burgess and Saulsberry.
“You talk about how young guys get better, Antone and Sam Keller are the two guys from an offensive standpoint you've seen a dramatic improvement in,” Koetter said.
Saulsberry's only carries (11 for 37 yards) were against Washington State on Nov. 13.
Burgess said he is healthy and ready to carry the load.
Terry Richardson now is returning punts, something Burgess also was doing against Stanford.
“It's just another opportunity for me to have another breakout game,” he said. “I have fresh legs, I'm running through the hole a lot faster, I'm not getting as tired. I just feel good about the whole situation. The rest has helped me shoulders a lot.
“It's almost like when a situation like this happens, we don't panic, we just try to fight through it and come up with other options.”
Randy Hill and Canidate are expected back next year, and Wade's status remains unclear. Others in the 2005 tailback mix will include Price Wilks, a freshman who is redshirting, and Jarrett Sayas, a transfer from New Mexico State.
ASU's 2005 recruiting class will include Keegan Herring of Peoria High School.
yes. yes I am
