As players scattered from a midfield practice huddle Wednesday, junior tight end Anthony Hill did not rush to the locker room. Instead he stayed late, diligently running routes and catching passes from redshirt sophomore quarterback Daniel Evans.
Last week against Georgia Tech, Hill had several critical dropped balls, one in the end zone and one on fourth and three on the Pack’s final drive with more than a minute left. Going into this weekend’s game at Clemson, Hill said he just wants to put it all behind him.
“I definitely don’t want to go into the Clemson game thinking about the last game really,” Hill said. “I dropped two to three balls. That was Saturday basically. This whole week I’ve been catching after practice, catching as many balls as I can during practice, before practice. I’m trying to correct any and every mistake I make.”
Hill, who played one year at Hargrave Military Academy, played defensive end in high school, but said playing on the other side of the line and catching passes came naturally to him. Though he dropped a few balls last weekend, the 6-foot-6-inch, 265-pound tight end has caught 31 passes this year for 333 yards to lead all Wolfpack receivers. According to coach Chuck Amato, his importance to the team should not be overlooked because of drops.
“Anthony Hill has made some huge catches,” Amato said. “And, yeah, he’s dropped a pass or two because we throw the ball to him an awful lot. The one pass in the end zone would have really been phenomenal if it went down in that end zone. He means a lot. He’s a real good blocker. And he’s a guy that we look for in go-to times, and if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have all those opportunities.”
According to Evans, Hill’s size and athleticism have made him one of his best targets this season and Hill’s role on the team is that of a leader.
“You don’t see a whole lot of 270-pound guys that are able to run like he does,” Evans said. “It’s really amazing. He’s [a] great over-the-middle target, a big body to deal with. He has a huge role, not only receiving, but in the running game he’s a great blocker too. He’s a vocal leader, and he leads by example in the way he works.”
Evans said he understands the mental disparity of a dropped pass and tries to do his part in reassuring Hill and other receivers when they drop the ball.
“After I see a receiver drop the ball, it’s my job to go over there and encourage them and let them know I’m getting the ball back to them, and then to actually follow through with it and get the ball back to them as soon as possible,” Evans said. “To make sure they don’t hang their head or mope or whatever. I think it’s just a confidence issue, and I have every confidence in the world in Anthony. He had a couple of drops, but he also bailed me out on a couple of my bad throws. So I’m not really worried about it at all.”
Hill said it helps to focus on individual plays and not think back at missed opportunities.
“I think you definitely have to keep a clean slate,” Hill said. “Some guys, if they drop a ball, they worry about that one drop the whole game.”
Hill said he prides a majority of his game around his ability to block. Last season he had eight knock-down blocks against Florida State, tying the N.C State tight end record for one game. Particularly against Clemson, he said he looks forward to bumping heads with highly touted defensive end Gaines Adams.
“There’s a whole lot on this guy Gaines Adams,” Hill said. “He’s supposed to be a phenomenal defensive end, top-five pick in the draft. I just feel like if we can stop the defensive line, and just be as physical and nasty as possible on the field, then we’ll be successful. I’m definitely looking forward to going up against Adams.”
