I think they drafted Anthony Hill to be a blocking TE but the good news is, he can catch, block and run pretty good. I don't think it hurt Owen Daniels to miss the last couple days of mini camp but if he holds out during training camp one of these many TEs on the roster might make him expendable. I'm a Anthony Hill fan anyway because he is another player from down home. I might be getting a little ahead of myself but, Hill might end up being the best all around TE we have.
I like Anthony Hill a lot. Him being a hometown boy at Clear Brook HS also helps!
The only concern I have with Hill are his knees.
I can't find the link, but I read that when he came back from a torn ACL in 07, in an interview during spring practice (?), he said that the injured knee feels good. It feels better than the other knee (?) I don't know what he meant by that (???)
The first game I watch him play was the Clemson game (third game of the season), when I saw him clutch his chest after a play. He then missed 4 games, I believe, but that injury sounds like it's over with.
I watched a few more games of his, UNC and Miami definitely, and a couple othes I can't remember, he looks erratic coming out of the gate.
I can't help but wonder whether because he doesn't have flexibility in his knee. Maybe CNND can give his inputs here on the medical stuff.
Sometimes he would miss the blocker on either side so easily.
Sometimes he just miss the LB on the second level so easily on a run block (looks like he just ran to an empty space.)
But once he can latch on the defender, he can throw a mean block, or he can drive the LB right out of the stadium.
When TSeminole talks about running crisper route, it also seems to me that he had the same inconsistency, which again, makes me think about his knee(s).
Sometimes he would look real fluid, sometimes he would look a bit like a tank.
Don't have to worry about his hands though, that I agree with Ubecool.
He looked better in the Senior Bowl.
He looked real good at the combine.
His running seems better, and he can catch them balls.
I think he had fully recover from the knee injury. Don't know about long term since I'm not in the medical field, and I don't know the extent of the injury.
I wonder if he has any minor problem with the other knee?
That's something we can oberve during TC.
If it was just a matter him needing time to come back (he missed the entire 07 season and 4 games last year), then he should be fine.
His production was very good in 06 (but I didn't get to see how he moved before the injury.)
It's probably just a matter of technique, and learn to play low with the pads more consistently.
If that's the case, I believe Hill will turn out to be a very good player.
I'd love to see him finish all of his block, and not stopping in the middle, because he surely can drive them and it's fun to watch that, LOL!
And I agree with BL, I watched another interview, and he seems to be the kind of guy who puts his team first.