Hill’s career day leads Florida defense

JACKSONVILLE — In the end, Will Hill’s emergence from the doghouse couldn’t have come at a better time for the Florida football team.

Struggling with ineffectiveness and off-the-field issues during the first half of what has been a largely disappointing season, the 6-foot-1, 207-pound junior safety turned in a career outing in what UF coach Urban Meyer called the most important victory of his coaching career.

Hill finished with six tackles, two interceptions — three if you count one that stymied a Bulldogs’ two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter — and turned in the play of the game in overtime when he picked off an errant pass from Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and returned it 89 yards in what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown.

And while Hill was later deemed out of bounds just shy of the end zone on the overtime interception return — replays indicated he stepped out of bounds at the Georgia 4-yard line — the play paved the way for Chas Henry’s game-winning 37-yard field goal four plays later that gave the Gators a 34-31 victory.

“We’ve had some fantastic safeties around here — fantastic,” Meyer said. “Start with Reggie Nelson to Major Wright to, now, Will Hill.”

His contributions certainly represented a positive development for the Gators, particularly given Hill’s slow start.

He missed the season’s first two games due to a suspension for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, and throughout the next few games drew criticism from Meyer and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, both of whom said Hill wasn’t playing up to his potential.

Following Saturday’s performance, however, coaches had little to complain about.

In addition to his game-changing play in overtime, Hill, who played sick and said he nearly collapsed on the sideline at one point, returned a second-quarter Murray interception 13 yards to set up a Florida touchdown, and intercepted another Murray pass on a Georgia two-point conversion attempt early in the fourth-quarter, preventing the Bulldogs from pulling to within a field goal.

“I’ll tell you what, you saw it today,” Austin said. “He played like a Florida safety plays. He made some wonderful plays out there today. He was physical, he hit guys, he intercepted the ball. Really proud of him today.”

And the early-season issues, he said, never did anything to dull his self-confidence.

“I was struggling earlier in the season, and coaches never gave up on me, teammates never gave up on me,” Hill said. “For me to come out and play like this, it’s just like paying the team back.”

Hill’s performance, meanwhile, highlighted a resurgent outing by the team’s defense, which had managed just two turnovers in the past three games.

It wasn’t always aesthetically pleasing— a glance over the box score indicates Florida gave up 31 points and a season-worst 439 yards — but the Gators held Georgia standout receiver A.J. Green almost fully in check and made the plays they hadn’t been able to during a three-game losing streak that dropped saw the team drop from the Top 25 for the first time under Meyer.

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, UF cornerback Janoris Jenkins picked off a Murray pass, giving the Gators the ball at the Georgia 29-yard line. Safety Ahmad Black followed that up with a forced fumble midway through the second quarter, which was recovered by linebacker Jelani Jenkins, and Hill’s first interception followed shortly after.

In all, three of Florida’s four takeaways led to points, helping the team’s offense — which played arguably its best all-around game of the season — redeem itself following three straight games of inept play.

They also helped the Gators take the first step in regaining their footing in the battle for a third-consecutive SEC Eastern Division title — a battle that will now likely come down to Florida and South Carolina.

“We needed turnovers,” said Hill. “That’s what we felt we was lacking. The beginning of the season in the secondary, we were doing everything. And (then) we started slacking, and we felt it was our responsibility to come out and perform.”

— Gator Country reporter Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan@gatorcountry.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/duganarnett.