Profile: Huron senior Tyree Hill hopes to climb the hill all the way to the NFL
The NFL Draft will be held this week and it’s a time when dreams come true for hundreds of young football players. Tyree Hill’s name will not be called this week, but the Huron senior hopes to someday be sitting on his couch at home and hearing his name called – that’s his dream and he’s going to give it everything he’s got.
Even his email “addresses” his dream.
“The reason why PRO is part of my email is because I know I’m going to be a professional football player one day so I wanted an email to reflect that,” says Hill. “Going to the NFL is one of my dreams.”
If he sounds confident it’s because he is. Hill, however, backs up his confidence with a determined work ethic, passion for the game and outstanding athletic skills. And he can do pretty much anything on a football field.
“I’ve played quarterback, running back, middle and outside linebacker, safety, defensive line, tight end, long snapper, place holder and wide out,” he says. “I call myself, ‘Mr. Do It All.’”
Huron Coach Antaiwn Mack would certainly agree with that moniker. And he certainly feels like Hill could someday climb the hill to the NFL.
“Tyree Hill is a football head,” Mack says. “Tyree loves football and his goal is to play in the NFL. I think Tyree has a strong chance to reach his goal of playing in the NFL and earning a degree.”
Hill will chase down both goals at Wayne State University.
“It’s great to see Tyree getting a chance to play college football in his home state of Michigan,” Mack says. “I know his choice was very difficult. Having so many other D-2 opportunities from other states can be stressful but he committed to Wayne State University early and stuck with his word.”
Wayne State seemed like the perfect fit and the best place to hone his skills and learn his craft as he chases his dream.
“I picked Wayne State because they gave the best opportunity and it was a huge family type atmosphere that I had to be a part of,” Hill said. “I felt a good connection to the coaches and players and it’s also pretty close to home.”
Because of injuries last year, Hill didn’t make the All-SEC team as a senior, but he did as both a sophomore and a junior. He said the highlights last year included breaking the school’s losing streak in the season opener and scoring his first TD as a senior.
He said losing as many games as Huron has the last few seasons has been “very tough.”
“It was one of those things where you worked so hard but you weren’t getting the results,” he says. “All I could do was leave it all out on the field every game. I was blessed with having a super competitive spirit that kept me moving.”
Tyree, the son of Chi Merritt-White and Corey White, also was going to run track this spring for the River Rats and is part of the Black Student Union (BSU) at Huron.
He says he has been keeping busy the past month working out at home, catching up on school work and “Netflix binge watching.”
Hill hopes school and sports can return in the fall so he can continue to chase his dream of playing the NFL. He will play linebacker at Wayne State and already has a game plan on how to prepare.
“The things I need to succeed at is to elevate my speed,” he says. “I’m not slow but I want to be able to guard anyone, fire off the line faster and I want to be where the ball is, so when you cut on film wherever the ball is I’m right there.”
Sounds like a plan.
And with the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select …
