Q&A with Tye Hill

Clemson just recently welcomed 2015 safety Tanner Muse, who will also play for new baseball Coach Monte Lee, to campus and the 2016 football class has a commitment from 5 star running back Tavien Feaster, who will use his 10.42 100 meters speed to compete for track and field.

Clemson has never shied away from signing dual sport athletes and guys like Jacoby Ford(football and track) and Kyle Parker(football and baseball) were very successful. But one of the best to ever play two sports at Clemson is Tye Hill.

Hill excelled in track and field and as a running back and corner from 2001-2005. He eventually chose to be a cornerback and was a consensus 2005 All-American and a finalist for the 2005 Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the top defensive back in all of college football.

In track and field, he won the 2004 ACC indoor 60 meters and the 2004 outdoor 100 meters championships. Hill decided not to compete in 2005 so he could properly prepare for a possible NFL career and eventually was selected 15th by the St. Louis Rams in the 2006 draft.

Tye Hill attended Woodland High in St. George, SC and he currently lives in Lawrenceville, Ga with his wife Alexis Hill, his son Tristen(7), and his daughter Ariah(3).

Q: First, you’re a native of Charleston and that city is still dealing with the recent tragic event, is there anything you would like to say to the people of your city?

Tye Hill: Yeah, my heart and prayers go out to the nine victims and their families. I am still in shock that something so tragic like that could happen in the low country.

Q: Why did you choose Clemson?

Tye Hill: Honestly, I was always a fan of the ACC and I liked Florida State growing up. Clemson was the in-state school in the ACC and I had a lot of people from my town that rooted for Clemson. It was also my first offer so it was always Clemson.

Q: You were a terrific two sport athlete. What was the hardest part about being a football player and a track performer?

Tye Hill: Just being in season year round. I never really had a break. But I did it in high school and it was something that I wanted to continue at Clemson. Coach Bowden(Tommy) said I could run track as long as I was productive. So I had to go over there and win or he would take it away. He would threaten me like that[laughing].

Q: You ran a 10.27 in the 100 meters and you won the ACC 60 meters championship. Any thoughts of giving up football and concentrating on track?

Tye Hill: Never. I was always a football player that ran track. I loved track. I wish I had given it a little more attention. But football was my first love and I looked at track as a tool to help me get to where I wanted to go in football. I felt like track kept me healthy for football. I was really never injured and I never missed a game at Clemson.

Q:You were a good running back. In fact, you lead the team with 5.4 yards per carry. Why the switch to corner?

Tye Hill: The truth about it, I was behind Yusef Kelly and I needed to add weight to my 180 pound frame. I really didn’t want to gain any weight because I still wanted to run track. Then I saw Terence Newman from Kansas State who was the Big 12 100 meter champ and he was drafted in the first round as a cornerback. I also had a cousin who played corner at Norfolk State who kept telling me that I needed to move to corner. Coach Lovett(John, Defensive Coordinator) recruited me for Auburn to be a corner and when he came to Clemson-he was always trying to get me to come to the defensive side of the ball. So everything was leaning towards me playing corner. I knew I had to give up track to continue to be a running back at Clemson and I didn’t want to do that.

Q: Did you ever envision yourself being a Jim Thorpe award finalist and a first round NFL pick? How gratifying was it to accomplish both?

Tye Hill: It was very gratifying. I always wanted to be remembered and that’s what you play for. I was very happy that I was able to experience the experiences at Clemson. It feels good to have my name associated with some of the Clemson greats and some of the nation’s best. I look back at it now and I’m amazed myself but during those times, I was just putting my head down and just going to work.

Q: One of the best games I watched during your career was the 2004 overtime victory over Miami. It was fun watching you and Justin Miller compete against Roscoe Parrish, Devin Hester, Darnell Jenkins, and Ryan Moore. Do you think your good all around play in that game officially announced your arrival as one of the best corners in the country?

Tye Hill: I don’t know but I was thrown in the fire from day one. I appreciate Coach Lovett and Coach Bowden for having the vision and sticking with it because it was rough at times. Justin Miller had just come off having a freshman All-American year and had 8 interceptions so I knew teams were going to come after me. I didn’t want to get embarrassed in front of 80,000 fans and I had friends back at home who were going to get on me so I had a lot of motivation to do well. I just said to myself , if you go out here, then you better do it.

Q: Most people outside of the NFL never know what changes the path of a career. What impacted your career and do you have any regrets?

Tye Hill: I should have done some things better. I should not have asked my way out of Atlanta. From the injury standpoint, I was hampered by injuries and you have to be available if you are a first round pick. As they say, you can’t be in the tub trying to make the club. I feel like God has a plan for me and maybe football wasn’t in it for me anymore. But I still love the game and I might still be around it.

Q: Maybe some coaching in the future?

Tye Hill: I love the game too much not to be around it and I’m still passionate about it. I have a lot of knowledge and experiences through the years that I could pass on. I have a son and I want him to gravitate towards whatever sport he likes and right now it seems like football.

Q: Toughest wide receiver you covered in in the NFL?

Tye Hill: Tory Holt! He used to route me up. He was one of the best pure route-running wide-outs. Now, if you’re talking about just pure athlete then it’s Calvin Johnson. I played with him one year in Detroit and it was amazing to see him with his size and speed run routes like Tory Holt. He’s a great wide receiver-so today it would have to be Calvin Johnson.

Q: Toughest wide receiver in college?

Tye Hill: [laughing] I have to say Calvin Johnson again. He lit us up his freshman year even though he was raw at the time. He’s definitely a freak of an athlete.

Q: Clemsoning has been defined in the Urban dictionary as, an act of delivering an inexplicably disappointing performance, usually within the context of a college football season. What do you think about it? And if you were asked to give a new definition of Clemsoning, then what would it be?

Tye Hill: We were inconsistent but we always had the talent. I was in the 2001 recruiting class that also included Airese Currie and Roscoe Crosby. It was a top 10 class. In our era, we would beat an FSU or a Miami and then lose to Duke but not just lose but get beat badly.
Clemsoning is winning today. Doing what you are suppose to do-win when you are suppose to win. I think Dabo has turned that around and look at what we are doing now-Winning!

Q: When you play or played video games with your likeness, have you switched yourself from corner to running back?

Tye Hill: I never really played with myself on a game. But one time, I was playing online against a random person and they were playing with my Rams team. The person intercepted my pass with myself and it won the game for the other person. So I scored a touchdown on myself and the person didn’t know they were playing against me. That is crazy!
Even though, I never used myself on a game. I’ve had fans and even other NFL players tell me that they used me as a returner and even as a slot receiver.

Q: Based on your experiences, what would you say to any athlete who is torn between two sports and two positions?

Tye Hill: If you’re not ready to give up on one sport, then you need to go somewhere where you can do both. Let it run it’s course, and figure out itself. In my situation, I chose football. But I do feel like, if me and Rese(Airese Currie) hearts were into track like football then we could have run faster. As high school seniors, we both competed in the Adidas All-American Championships and tied for third. Brendan Christian won the race and Tyson Gay(the American record holder in the 100 meters at 9.69) finished in 5th place. I chose football over track and at some point as an athlete you will have to make a choice. But don’t make the decision until you have to make it.

Tye Hill didn’t have a long tenure in the NFL(2006-10), but he feels that he learned a lot from football and it transcends into his life today. He currently owns two Golden Corral restaurants in the Atlanta area with over 70 employees and three certified managers for each store. Each store is directed and taught as a team and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Although he has no coaching experience, he knows that he would probably be welcomed in Clemson to share his knowledge or even join the staff one day. He loves Dabo and how he keeps former players involved in the program. Hill says, ” He’s got a lot of players and alumni on staff. It makes guys like me want to come back and be around Clemson.” Dabo definitely has Hill in his corner and he had this closing statement about the head coach.

"He’s got the formula for success down. He incorporates everyone and I think that is why he is so successful and able to connect with the top talent in the country. He worked his way up from the bottom and it’s no lie, it’s the truth. He is who he is…..and does it the right way."