Hill helping keep Colquitt receivers among the state's elite

Sep. 7—MOULTRIE — Colquitt County head coach Rush Propst hired David Hill Jr. in 2016 to help develop young skill position athletes into players who could thrive in the Packers high-octane offense.

And through the final years of the Propst era, three seasons under Justin Rogers and now in the first year of Sean Calhoun's regime, Hill has quietly continued to turn out outstanding receivers.

The list of receivers Colquitt County has produced the last seven seasons is indeed impressive.

It includes Cam Singletary, Tory Ponder, Ty Powell, Lemeke Brockington, Tajh Sanders, Tyler Walker, Montavious Ponder, Orion Bonner and Baby D Wheeler.

This year's crop includes Ny Carr, who has committed to Georgia, Zay Williams, Landon Griffin and Jaden Fowler.

All have found their way to the end zone for the Packers and continue to create headaches for opposing defenses.

"The talent here is unbelievable," Hill said. "This year we have got a great bunch. There is so much depth. We can rotate them in and out and not lose anything.

"And they know in this offense, they are going to get a chance to catch the ball."

When Propst hired Hill, he knew first-hand the person he was getting.

Propst was the head coach at Eufaula High School when Hill had a senior season for the Tigers in 1995 that resulted in him being named a high school All-American, the 5A Player of the Year in Alabama, the Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Gatorade Player of the Year and the No. 1 receiver in Alabama.

Hill originally signed with Auburn, but "I did some things off the field I wasn't supposted to do," he said.

He ended up transferring to Troy where his receivers coach was Jeremy Rowell, now Colquitt County's defensive coordinator.

Among his teammates at Troy were future Colquitt County assistant coaches Shelton Felton and Jeff Hammond, now head coaches at Valdosta and Worth County respectively.

Following his collegiate career, he played in the Arena Football League and was in the first Arena Football 2006 video game by EA Sports.

With the criminal justice degree he earned at Troy in 2001 in hand, Hill began his coaching career in 2007 at Barbour High School in Clayton, Ala.

After spending 2010 and 2011 at Jefferson County, he coached the tight ends and was the special teams coach at Florida A&M.

From 2012-2014, he was at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Miss., where he helped develop All-American receiver Jonathan Rumph, who went on to play for the New York Jets.

He was the receivers coach at Ridge Community High School in Davenport, Fla., when he paid a call on his former high school head coach in Moultrie.

Propst immediately offered him a job.

"It was a blessing to be reunited with him," Hill said. "He was the same guy he was at Eufaula. He was a little younger and more energetic then. We learned so much from him."

The Packers were coming off back-to-back 15-0 seasons when Hill joined the staff.

"He was awesome," Hill said. "One of a kind. We'd have coaches meetings in June or July and he'd go over the schedule and tell us where we'd be in December and he was right on point."

Hill keeps up with former Colquitt County receivers who have gone on to play collegiately and was pleased to hear that Bonner had a touchdown catch last weekend for Glenville State in West Virginia and that Brockington had his first reception for Minnesota.

"He is such a great person," Hill said of Brockington, who caught 108 passes and scored 25 touchdowns for the Packers from 2018-2020. "He has that smile that is so contagious.

"And he knows what it is to be a complete receiver. When he was here, he was like a coach on the field."

Hill has enjoyed watching Carr's growth as a receiver this last two seasons.

"His speed is just unbelievable," he said. "He is impossible to contain. He understands how to get open. And he's just a junior. He is going to get even better."

Hill said he has enjoyed sharing the offensive coaches room with such talented people as Troy Hobbs, now at Camden County; Josh Crawford, now at Western Kentucky; John Cooper, the Packers current offensive coordinator; and Quin Roberson, the former Packers receiver added to the offensive staff this year.

"He is very smart, very intelligent," Hill said of Roberson, who also played at Samford and Valdosta State "When he speaks, the kids listen."

Hill and the rest of the staff are getting the players prepared for the Friday's game against Lee County, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6A.

The game will pit two undefeated and annual state powers against each other in Leesburg.

He said that Lee County will be well-coached, but is optimistic about the Packers chances.

And while he has spent much of his life in Alabama, Hill said he has grown fond of Colquitt County.

"This is such a special place," he said. "It's just like home."