Hill’s background to help Pitt’s wide receivers

Aubrey Hill doesn’t expect to have any trouble adjusting to his new job as Pitt’s wide… Aubrey Hill doesn’t expect to have any trouble adjusting to his new job as Pitt’s wide receivers coach.However, adjusting to the Pittsburgh weather is a different story all together.

“I’m not used to this at all,” he said with a laugh.

A standout wide receiver at Florida in the early 90s, Hill was appointed to head coach Dave Wannstedt’s staff earlier this month. Having played for one of college football’s more creative offensive coaches in Steve Spurrier, Hill figures the transition to Pitt will be easy.

“From having played, it’s an easy transition for me because I’m coaching receivers,” he said.

He joins the staff after holding the same position at NCAA I-AA Elon University, in North Carolina, last year. Prior to that, he was the receivers coach at Duke from 1999 to 2003, while also taking part in a pair of NFL coaching internships, which is how he became connected with Wannstedt.

“I had the opportunity to work with Aubrey when he interned with us, the [Miami] Dolphins,” Wannstedt said upon appointing Hill to his staff. “He is an excellent teacher, great communicator and will add strength to our staff in recruiting the South Florida region.”

While Hill said his presence wouldn’t “weigh in as much as coach Wannstedt’s” when it came to recruiting, his presence certainly won’t hurt Pitt’s chances of increasing its success in one of the most lucrative recruiting areas.

Four years in Spurrier’s “Fun ‘n Gun” offense elevated him to an elite receiver in the South Eastern Conference. He collected 86 receptions and 18 touchdowns to go along with three SEC Championships in his four years, helping the Gators to a 43-10-1 record, and elevating himself to captain status his senior year.

“All teams that play at a high level are committed, talented and have good chemistry,” he said. “I think last year’s [Pitt] team showed they have good chemistry to get to the Fiesta Bowl.”

After his playing days ended, he joined the Florida staff as a graduate assistant from 1996 to ’98. In his first season on staff, Florida dominated rival Florida State in a 52-20 Sugar Bowl victory to capture the national championship with a 12-1 record.

Being part of a national championship program is something Hill hopes will give Pitt some recruiting leverage in the coming weeks, with signing day coming next week.

“I’m a firm believer that all players want to be taught the game,” he said. “It’s always a good beginning for them to know your background.”

And, having been a receiver himself, he knows he can provide the sort of “hands-on” experience needed.

“It helps when guys know I can relate to the little things,” he added.

In 2002, Hill worked the summer internship with the Dolphins when Wannstedt was the head coach. He worked with many wideouts, most notably Chris Chambers and Orande Gadsden, helping them develop all of the components of a great wide receiver he deemed necessary.

“There are so many components of a great receiver,” Hill said. “His talent level is the first thing to talk about, then his size. Can the kid learn an offense or read a defense? These are complete receivers.”

He talked of how important it was for a player, as demonstrated by Chambers, to have a professional attitude and emphasize the team concept every day. He compared this combination of attitude and skill to one former Pitt star.

“When you talk of Larry Fitzgerald, that is the mold,” he said.

Hill hopes to develop a balanced offense at Pitt, one that will be difficult to scheme against, he said. He is confident that he and the other offensive coaches, including newly appointed offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, will “mesh well together.”

But all conversation turned back to commitment, a word peppered throughout nearly every phrase.

“In this profession, if you’re an entertainer, if you’re going for your Ph.D, no matter what it is, you can be very talented and can juggle lots of things, but you have to be committed too.”

He, along with he rest of Pitt’s coaches, will be showing his commitment to the team on Wednesday, which issigning day for recruits.

“All of us coaches will be eagerly waiting by a fax machine, waiting for commitments,” he said.