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Will Hill’s Breakout Season Looming With Ravens

By Brett Foote

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Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh (left) shakes hands with safety Will Hill (33) against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC wild card playoff game at Heinz Field. The Ravens defeated the Steelers 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

No one has ever doubted the talent that Baltimore Ravens safety Will Hill has, not for one minute.  This is a player, after all, who ranked as the 14th best safety in the NFL in 2014, a season in which he missed the first six games following a week and a half of practice with a brand new team and a brand new defensive scheme.

Not only that, but Hill only started 8 of 10 games down the stretch as he settled into the Ravens’ defensive backfield.  One could argue that Hill never really reached his potential, especially when you take into consideration the fact that he was surrounded by one of the NFL’s worst secondaries, a rag tag unit of roster cast offs.

Now that Will Hill is enjoying a full offseason with the Ravens, his breakout appears to finally be looming after years of promise were decimated by several violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.  Hill has never played a full 16 game season in his career, but seems to have finally put his past transgressions behind him.

The Ravens’ coaching staff has challenged Hill to become the player everyone knows he can be, and Hill has responded by showing up at 5:30 every morning to work out, oftentimes arriving at the Ravens’ facility before the coaching staff.  He’s also spent a lot of extra time with defensive coordinator Dean Pees and defensive backs coach Chris Hewitt going over coverages.

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Hill’s extra work has already made an impression on John Harbaugh, who said that Hill is “light years” ahead of where he was last offseason, and noted that he “looks the part.”  Hill’s extra work in the weight room certainly has him looking noticeably bulkier this offseason, as was quite evident during OTAs.

For Will Hill, this offseason has easily been the quietest of his career, and that’s a good thing.  For a guy who seemed destined to reach the pinnacle of his profession as recently as 2013 (when he was ranked as the third best safety in the NFL by PFF), it’s been a long time coming.  And for the first time in his career, he’s going to have a good shot at reaching that pinnacle.

Next: Ravens 2015 success hinges on young defense

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